The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone
by SuperXBrother
Summary: Just before Voldemort killed her, Lily performed a ritual on Harry. Now he will discover not only his lost heritage, but who he really is. With a bond with Ginny, a contolling headmaster, and a golden bird following him, now he must survive his 1st year.
1. The Birth of a Phoenix

© 2011 by SuperXBrother. All rights reserved

Lord and Lady Phoenix; The Stone

Chapter One

The Birth of a Phoenix

The village of Godric's Hollow was small, and just saying that was an understatement. Its tiny square held most of the small shops and cottages, plus the church and graveyard. There was a corner pub and nothing more. The residents of the quiet town each had their own life. They had a home and a family. They went to work each day. Lived their lives. However, there was a secret hidden inside Godric's Hollow. A secret of utmost importance, that if discovered could open the way to a whole wide world, completely secret and unknown to theirs. This secret was simply known as the Potters.

Lily and James Potter were both twenty one. They had both just gotten out of school as head boy and girl, with outstanding grades. Three years ago in their graduating year of nineteen seventy eight they started dating each other. Right after they got out, James proposed and Lily immediately accepted. The wedding was small, just friends. James couldn't take his eyes off Lily as she walked toward him in her long white dress. He only wished that kiss could have lasted forever. Fate gave them their first son, whom they named Harry James Potter. The family seemed just like any other in the village, except for one small little detail. James was a wizard and Lily was a witch.

Their lives had changed the day they had gotten a letter saying they had received an invitation to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its walls were filled with many kinds of magic from the simple Levitation Charm to the brutally long process of learning how to become an two were inside their home just a month ago when an owl swooped in from the window. Owls were commonly used for the post in the Wizarding World.

"Who is it from dear," asked Lily as she entered the room after just putting their just now year old son Harry to bed, joyous for their son's birthday party they were planning for next week. Lily had long red hair falling to her shoulders. She was a very pretty woman who was kind and courteous and was always willing to help another, even if her own life was at stake. Her most distinctive feature however was her emerald eyes that she had passed on to her son.

"From Dumbledore," replied James, who was reading a newspaper. He had jet black hair, glasses, and loved to play practical jokes of any kind on anyone he could find… The two were total opposites. Lily was responsible and James was almost a complete U-turn. She once caught him trying to see how well Harry could fly a broomstick around the house. She told him off after helping the baby down. James could only smile at the thought of how many international teams would be begging his son to play for them.

He read on, "says he wants to talk with us today at twelve about something real important."

"Does it say about what?" his wife asked.

"No, just to stay here until he graces us with his presence. It also says do not leave the house under any circumstance."

He heard Lily sigh.

"Well guess we just have to wait."

The meeting with Dumbledore was quick. Dumbledore told them about the dangers they were in. The self-proclaimed Dark Lord, Voldemort was now beginning to search for them. He told them scarcely of the beliefs the Dark Lord now had of them being a danger to him, without informing them where the info had come from.

Dumbledore informed (commanded) them of his wanting the Potters to go into hiding 'He waits to tell us now about this and doesn't even tell us why he wants us to go hide like cowards' thought Lily as she was packing in a rush. 'He knew things were getting bad, but to withhold this kind of information?' She picked up the sleeping Harry and walked out of the room. "He just waits until he thinks it's the best moment for him to strike and it ends up hurting everyone used in his plan. We're his pawns" she mumbled to herself and stopped speaking as she approached the now solemn looking James.

"Asked Sirius about being the Keeper?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Yes, but he was reluctant, said it would make it even more dangerous for us all."

"We already are in danger, what's a little more going to do," she replied before they disappeared from their home, never to step foot in it again.

The next two months had gone by without much thought as they lived in their new home in Godric's Hallow. Lily had gone to her non magical sister Petunia to invite her to her son's party and to try and start over with her, only to receive a much expected screech of "YOU!", one of her nephew Dudley's numerous tantrums followed by a crash, and a door slamming into Lily's face. Her sister however did not see the tears in those emerald eyes as Mrs. Potter left Number Four Privet Dive.

Sirius Black soon came in late October. He spoke to the two about his role as secret keeper and asked them a question, to which they agreed half heartedly, though they both knew he was only trying to help. There were rumors about a spy for Voldemort flying about, and they knew Sirius wanted to make sure they would never be hurt. They knew it was for a good reason but the choice was not very wise, for all three of them.

Nightfall had arrived on October thirty first. Many small creatures roamed the night, going door to door, receiving treats and giving tricks. But the tall robed man who appeared so suddenly in Godric's Hallow was not here for the tricks or the treats. He was here for one purpose and one purpose only.

A small boy in a grim reaper costume, clutching a bag full of sweets looked awed for his costume far outmatched his. With an excited "Nice outfit mister." he ran back to his friends who were waiting for him at the door of another house.

'Stupid Muggle Brat' thought the man as he grazed slowly over to a certain house. The house of the Potters.

The robed man walked to the closed gate and pulled from his robed a long wand of yew. Silently he cast dark magic to opened the gate and break through the protective magic surrounding the house. It worked.

He slowly crept up the path watching the family through the living room window. The father was lighting red sparks from his wand's tip, amusing the boy as he made different patterns erupt from the end. The mother of the child watched on in amusement, laughing at the sight before her, as the father twirled around. The man snorted in disgust at he sight, walk quickly, and blasted the door open, . He heard the father tell his wife to run, and he entered the other end of the hall, no wand in hand. The robed figure chuckled to himself at the defenseless man, daring to challenge him. This would not take long.

Lily had run with Harry up the stairs to the nursery, knowing that she and her husband were going to die. But she would not allow anyone to take her only son. She sat Harry into his crib, saw a flash of green light creep under the door, and heard a thud… She hadn't told anyone about what she was about to do, only her husband.

When anyone could be the spy, she would not take any chances at all. After all, she had been planning for this for a month. She placed a hand onto his forehead and spoke in softbut commanding words,

Meklēt phoenixes "zelta krāsā

Atrast vienam otru, mīlestību un burvība taisnība

Divi kļuvusi par vienu kopā, izmantojot saiti

Un pierādīt cienīgs vainagu uz phoenix tālāk

As she finished a gold hue had surronded from Lily. The light went from her to her son. Lily had not told anyone of her true birthright, and what was Harry's true birthright. And then she whispered to Harry's mind.

"When the time comes, you shall know of who you really are. You will not play part of anyone else's plans or dominations. You shall find the one who will have the same role as you. My son, you will discover your own true destiny. Go to the Potter's Secret Vault, there you will know who you truly are, my son." The light became even brighter then began to fade, moving slowly to the window.

Lily Potter turned to face the door, with no wand in hand. She knew that her protection would protect Harry until he could visit the vault. There, she knew none could enter without her son. Dumbledore did not even know of its existence.

The door shot open, and standing there was the man. She knew what she had to do and she also knew that Voldemort would not find out what she had done, not for a very long time.

Lily Potter refused to step aside as the Dark Lord commanded her, begging him to take her instead. He offered her the chance to live, as long as she allowed her son to be given to him. Lily did not step down. Another flash of green light filled the house and was followed by a thud.

The man stepped over the dead, unmarked body toward the crib. The glow had ceased before the figure conversed his deceased mother. Seeing that it was someone not familiar to him, he began to cry.

The man could not stand crying children, especially from the… well he could not stand them. With the wand of yew level with the boy's eyes, he basked in his own power. How could a mere child be a threat than he, Lord Voldemort? He wanted to see this one's light leave his eyes. He had never wanted to kill someone more than he had tonight.

After tonight, none would ever be hopeful again. All who resisted would be slaughtered. The parents were just there and in the way, no this was the one who needed to be dead. He summoned all of his power. The stick of yew humming with an invisible force, as its master screamed,

"AVADA KEDAVRA"

Time slowed down. The green jet of light speared towards the boy's forehead, his emerald green eyes becoming impossibly greener as the curse came ever so closer. The one who conjured the spell grinning like a madman, for he was already one. But his sneer turned into a look of pure horror. His killing curse, the unavoidable death, the most feared curse in the world aimed right at the boy turned back and speed straight back to its creator. The spell exploded and the entire village shook from its force and might. Though it seemed that it rumbled the entire world. The village's inhabitants could only ponder in fear the next day as to what could have caused the Potter House to become a green inferno.

The house of the Potters turned to a blazed ruin. The green fires had eventually died during the night. There was no sign of a robed man. The bodies of Lily and James were buried under the rubble that had fallen during the inferno. The strange thing was the sole living thing in the house. A crying baby with a curiously shaped scar on his forehead, shaped like a bolt of lightning.

This boy's famous story would begin today as the conqueror of He Who Must Not Be Named. Every child of the wizarding world would grow up hearing about the tale of the boy who lived.

This boy's name was Harry James Potter and what no one noticed was that while a certain scarred baby was flying in a motorcycle in the arms of a giant, a beautiful bird had just been born and was now flying after him across the heavens.

This bird was the Golden Phoenix.

A/N: Some of the text in this chapter comes from the Harry Potter Books. No infringement was intended. I do not own the series. I wanted to write a Harry Potter story based on the series, but with a more "Secret behind the scenes plot".

Comment and tell me what you think.


	2. Delivery

A/N: Hi guys, I have to admit, I was nervous about this story. I had the idea for some time but I didn't

know how to put it together. I was a bit confused about the concept myself for a while. But now thanks to

my subscribers (see below) I've got the main idea stuck in my head, Now I just need to get it down on the

computer!

This chapter will be very similar to the book, (have to set up the story, sorry!) so it will be a bit dry, but I

promise that the story will please.

I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER IN ANY CHARM, HEX, OR CURSE! (Wish I did though! J)

Thanks guys! You were the ones who inspired me to continue this. This series is for you!

* * *

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Two**

**Delivery **

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal.

Thank you very much. They lived perfectly normal lives. They wee not the kind of people that would do

anything strange or abnormal. Mr. Dursley was large and beefy. None knew if he had any neck, for his

many chins covered it. He was the director of Grunnings, a drill company.

Mrs. Dursley was thin, blonde, and had twice the normal neck length. This came very useful in her times

of spying on the neighbors. They had a small boy named Dudley and to them, there was no greater boy

anywhere.

The Dursleys had everything they wanted, except for one crucial secret. Their greatest fear was if

someone discovered it, the horrible family called the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but

they had not spoken in years. They new that the nonexistent family had a small son too. But they would

see fit to have contact with them. They pretended the family didn't exist because Mrs. Potter and her good

for nothing husband were as unlike the Dursleys as humanly possible.

Humanly.

On that gray Tuesday morning, the Dursley had awakened. There was nothing to suspect about \

that day to suggest anything mysterious or strange was to happen. Mr. Dursley put on his most boring tie

for work, while Mrs. Dursley was wrestling a screaming beach ball into a XXXL high chair.

None noticed the owl fluttering past number four Private Drive.

Mr. Dursley pecked his wife on her skinny cheek. Dudley was having a Dudley tantrum and

threw his cereal at the wall, sending milk, marshmallow puffs , and millions of glass bowl shards onto the

once spotless floor of Mrs. Dursley's favorite room, her once impossibly spotless kitchen. Mr. Dursley

ruffled his son's blond hair while saying "Little tyke.", while Mrs. Dursley was looking at her son with

adoration for his aim and strength and perfection and "Dudleyness." Mr. Dursley jumped into his car,

turned on the ignition, and backed out of the drive.

His thoughts of his family's normalness and perfectness were quickly ruined by a cat. Yes a cat.

But this peculiar cat was acting very strange. It was reading a map. Mr. Dursley did not realize what he

had just seen until he was at the end of the street. Looking back to be sure, he was half right. The map was

gone to confirm the normality and his overactive imagination. But a second later, as he saw the cat he

jumped and banged his head against the roof of his car when he saw it near his car, reading the corner's

street sign.

Privet Drive

Magnolia Crescent

Bellowing out a curse, he ignored the pain from the roof and looked back at the sign. There was now an

small tanny owl clutching its talons upon the metal, blocking some of the letters, now it said,

Pr at Drive

Mag i C scent.

(Ironic isn't it. The Dursleys hate magic and live on Prat Drive, while a certain squib we all know and love lives on Mag i C scent)

Mr. Dursley ignored that feature of the day as well. Instead, he focused his attention back upon the cat.

He concluded that it must have been just a trick of the light. For now the cat was doing a purely normal

cat antic. It stared at him and his car, just as he and his car stared back.

'No, no, no' he thought jokingly to himself, however it seemed more like reassuring than joking.

Cats can't read maps or signs. That's ridiculous. But he continued to glance at his side view mirror at the

cat who continued to watch the now distant vehicle. As if wishing its glances would make the large man

to vanish quicker by tripling the speed limit. Mr. Dursley put all the abnormalities he imagined out of his

mind, and began to focus on more important things. Money, his loving family, money, the economy,

money, the government repairing itself, money, the number of employees he was going to fire today,

and…. most…. importantly….…you guessed it….MONEY!

But on the highways and roads that lead to the Grunnings building, Vernon Dursley noticed something

rather odd. Inside of the normal hour long traffic jam. He noticed several people dressed in a stupid sense

of fashion. He supposed it was one of those dumb fads as he drummed his swelled fingers upon the

steering wheel. He noticed the weirdoes whispering excitedly together. Mr, Dursley came to rage when he

saw an man no less than ten years older than he in a long swishing forest-green cloak. The nerve! But

then he realized that they must be collecting for boring fundraisers. The traffic inched slowly up the road

and finally, and hour later, he found himself in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills, but

certain abnormal thoughts of kitty cats were still loitering not to far behind.

Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't,

it would be much harder to focus on drills. He didn't see the owls in broad daylight, but the people on the

street did, jaws on the pavement as owls filled the air. Most had never even seen an owl at night before.

Mr. Dursley however was having a perfectly normal morning. He yelled at five people. Fired one because

he was mad at the price of gasoline he had to pay that morning. Spewed his hot coffee at another because

it was too hot. Made several important phone calls, shouted a bit more during them. By lunchtime, he was

in a good mood.

No thoughts at all about cats or robes.

After buying a bun at the bakery a few stores from his office he passed a few of the robed freaks, hearing

only part of their excited conversation.

"The Potters, I heard"

"-yes their son, Harry."

Mr. Dursley dashed back to his office, full of dread, for the robed weirdoes had said Potters and

Harry. He snapped at his secretary to not disturb him as he began to furiously dial his home number. With

two digits left to dial he put the phone back…no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't a uncommon name.

Lots of people's last name was Potter and had sons called Harry. He wasn't even sure if his nephew's

name was Harry. He'd never seen the boy, and never would. He was maybe called Harold, Harvey, or

Henry. There was no reason to make a fuss out of this nonsense. He couldn't blame his wife for wanting to

forget the Potters, if he had a sister like that…but still those people in cloaks…

It was harder for him to concentrate that afternoon. When he left the office at five he was in such a rush

that he knocked over a tiny old man.

"Sorry" he grunted as the old man picked himself off, dusting off his violet cloak, which Mr. Dursley had

just now noticed. The man didn't seem upset at all. His face had a wide smile and said in a high voice,

"Don't be sorry, my dear sir, Rejoice! For You-Know-Who is gone at last! Even Muggles such as yourself

should be celebrating this happy day!

The man wrapped his arms as far as he could around Mr. Dursley's enormous girth, gave him a hug round the

middle, and walked off. Mr. Dursly had just been hugged by a complete stranger. He had also been called

a Muggle, whatever that absurd term was.

He got into his car and sped home so fast, it would have given Dale Earnhardt a heart attack.

As he pulled into number four's driveway, his mood had not improved. For the same cat he'd imagined

that morning was now sitting on his garden wall.

"Shoo" yelled Mr. Dursley. "Get!" The cat glared at him, yawned loudly, unimpressed, and continued to

sit on that very wall. He muttered something about "Damn cats" and walked into number four.

Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner about how she had made her impossibly

spotless kitchen even more impossibly spotless, Mrs. Next Door's flaws, and how Dudley learned a new

word ("**WONT**!"). Mr. Dursley did his best to act naturally. He sat in his chair and caught the evening

news.

"And lastly bird watchers all over are baffled from the unusual number of owls today. There have been

hundreds of these birds flying about in broad daylight, everywhere, since sunrise. Top owl experts are

unable to understand why the owls have changed their sleeping patterns so abruptly. And now here's Jim

McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any owl showers tonight Jim?"

"Well Ted," said the weather man, "I don't know about owls but viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire,

and Dundee have phoned in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, we're having a storm

of shooting stars! Yes, that's right! Shooting Stars! Bonfire Night isn't until next week folks! But I can

promise tonight will be a wet one.

Vernon Dursley sat frozen in his chair. Stars? Owls? Robes? And that whispers of Potters? Mrs. Dursley

came into the living room with two cups of tea. He cleared his throat.

"Petunia," he began nervously. "You- you haven't h-heard from your s-sister lately…have you? She look

shocked and angry.

"No," she said stiffly. "Why?"

"Funny stuff on the news. Owls in daylight. Shooting stars. And funny people were in town and…"

"So?" spat Petunia Dursley.

"W-well, I just thought it might.. You know…part of her crowd."

Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea. Mr. Dursley pondered whether he should mention that he heard those

strangers say "Potter."

"Their son, he's about Dudder's age now right?"

"I suppose"

"What was his name, Henry?"

"Harry," she grunted. "Nasty name if you ask me."

"Oh yes, I agree".

He did not say another word about the Potters that night. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom,

preparing for bed, he looked out the bedroom window. The cat was still on the wall, now staring down the

street, as if it was waiting for something.

Could he have imagined the whole thing? As the two got into bed, Vernon decided that even if it had to

do with the Potters, it would not affect the Dursleys.

(Boy was he wrong!)

The house of number four may have fallen asleep as well as its neighbors, but the cat on the wall was as

still as a statue, showing no signs of drowsiness. Then its tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

A man appeared on the end of Private Drive. (The owl had flown away) He appeared so suddenly, you'd

think he popped out of thin air. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Private Drive. He was tall,

but thin. His silver hair gave away his great age. He wore a purple cloak that fell to the ground, and high-

heeled buckled boots. His twinkling blue eyes were hidden behind half-moon glasses. And his nose was

long and crooked. This man was Albus Dumbledore.

Albus pulled out from his purple robes, what appeared to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open,

and pointed it toward the farthest street lamp on the Drive. He clicked it and the lamp went out with a

small pop. The light from it speeding towards the lighter. He pointed it at another lamp and once again,

clicked it. The next lamp went out. This continued until all twelve lamps were dark. The only lights left

on the street were two orbs that were cat eyes, watching him. If anyone woke up and looked out a window,

they would see only blackness. Dumbledore put the lighter back into his robes and heard a stern noise.

"Meow!"

He turned to it, smiled, and spoke.

"Fancy meeting you here,…Professor McGonagall."

But he was no longer speaking to a tabby cat. In the cats place was a stern looking woman wearing glasses

the exact same shape as the markings the cat had around its eyes. She too wore a cloak, an emerald one.

Her black hair in a tight bun. She looked ruffled.

"How did you recognize me?"

"My dear, I have never seen a cat so still."

"You'd be stiff if you'd been on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.

"All day?" When everyone else is celebrating?"

Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.

"Oh yes, there celebrating all right," she said. "You'd even be shocked from how much the Muggles are

noticing. Owls...shooting stars, I'd expect that was Diggle. He never had much sense. But I guess these Muggles aren't completely stupid."

"You can't blame them," said Albus. We've had little to celebrate for the past eleven years."

"I know that, but that's no reason for us to be downright careless," quipped McGonagall. "Fine thing it

would be the day You-Know-Who was defeated and Muggles found out about our world, wouldn't it?"

"Quite." Dumbledore agreed. "But my dear, must you call him by his name? For years I have tried to

persuade people to call him by his name, Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched but Dumbledore did

not notice. "I do not seem reason for anyone to fear the name. Fear of a name only increases the fear itself,

after all. Now would you care for a lemon drop?"

"A what?" asked the witch surprised by the strange question.

"A lemon drop. A Muggle sweet, I am rather found of."

"No thank you," said McGonagall simply, thinking now was not the time for sweets. "But back to what we

were speaking of. You're different. You're the only one He-Who-Mus…oh all right Voldemort, was

frightened of."

"You flatter me, but Voldemort had powers I will never have."

"Only cause you're to noble to use them" she muttered to herself. "But the owls are nothing to the gossip

flying about. You know what they're saying. What finally stopped him?" Dumbledore was sucking on

another lemon drop.

"What they're saying is that last night, Voldemort showed up in Godric's Hollow and found the Potters.

They say Lily and James are-that-they are d-dead." she at last croaked out.

Dumbledore said nothing. McGonagall gasped and her eyes watered.

"Lily and James- but- oh dear-but that's not all they said. They said he tried to kill their son, but he couldn't. They say that after all they people, all the powerful witches and wizards who opposed him, he couldn't harm a little baby? A little boy who somehow survived the…the curse?"

"We may never know," Albus replied softly.

"And are you going to tell me why you are here of all places in Britain?"

"I've come to bring young Harry to live with his only family left.

"You don't mean, not these Muggles? Y-you can't, I've watched these people all day, they're the worst of

their sort' you'd ever find. Their son, he.. He threw his food at his mother just because it didn't have

enough sweets on top. Harry Potter come and live here!"

"It's the best place, I've written a letter…"

"A LETTER!" she screeched. A LETTER TO EXPLAIN ALL THAT'S HAPPENED! YOU THINK

THAT WILL MAKE THEM CARE FOR HIM! THEY WILL HATE HIM! THEY'LL GLADY WANT

TO THROWN HIM BACK TO VOLDEMORT'S FOLLOWERS! CHILDREN ALL OVER OUR WORLD WILL GROW UP KNOWING HIS NAME! I AM SURPRISED THAT REPORTERS AREN"T

SCURRYING EVERYWHERE IN BRITAIN, MAGICAL OR NOT, JUST TO GET A PICTURE OF HIM! THE DURSLEYS? DUMBLEDORE, I HEARD THEM SPEAK OF LILY, THEIR OWN FAMILY, AS IF SHE WERE A DRIED UP, OLD, CRUMPLE-HORNED SNORKACK!" she finished, gasping,

begging for air to return to her stern, red face.

Dumbledore, looking shocked quickly replied, "Yes, but the fame would be enough to turn

anyone's head round. Can't you see why it will be better for him to grow up here?"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, ready to explode once more, but then quietly replied "Fine-fine,

you're right, but if you think they will treat him properly…"

But her voice was drowned out by the sound of a deafening roar. A motorcycle appeared from behind the

clouds and pulling to a stop, landed right in front of them. The huge rider acknowledged them in a

grunting voice " Professor Dumbledore sir, Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall looked livid at the thought of the little bundle in Hagrid's arms but then put on a false smile.

She knew the large man always tried to help, but he wasn't always the most responsible… and for

Dumbledore to trust him with a job this important…

"Hagrid, at last," spoke Dumbledore. "And where did you get the motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it sir," the giant spoke somewhere through his wild beard. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me to

make the delivery."

"Any problems?" spoke the old man.

"No sir, house was almost gone. But I got him out before the Muggles started looking. Little guy fell

asleep just as we was flyin' over Bristol."

The two professors stepped toward Hargrid and looked in the bundle in his arms. Inside was a sleeping

boy. Underneath a tuft of jet black hair was a cut, a bolt of lightning.

"Is that where.." began Minervra

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He will have that scar forever."

"Couldn't you try and remove it?" asked McGonagall.

"Even if I could, I would not. Scars can come in handy. I have one just above my left knee that is a perfect

map of London Underground. Well, lets get this over with. Give him here Hagrid.

Hagrid handed him the baby and McGonagall sighed quietly, for why Dumbledore ever mentioned of his

knee scar, she would never know. Hagrid gave the baby a scratchy kiss and was about to cry when

McGonagal said,

"Hush now Hagrid, we'll see the boy again one day."

"Y-yes.. Yes…okay." sobbed the giant.

Dumbledore laid the bundle on the doorstep to number four, pulled from his cloak a envelope, and placed

the letter inside Harry's tiny fist. For one minute the three stood there, in front of number four's front

door, watching the baby slumber.

"Well," said the old man. "That's that, might as well go join the festivities." Hagrid trembled out,

"I've got to go give Sirius his bike back, so…" but he never finished his sentence for he was already

riding into the sky on the motorcycle. Dumbledore turned to McGonagall and said

"I shall see you soon, I except." McGonagall said nothing but nodded. The two parted ways. Dumbledore

walked to the end of Private Drive and held up the silver cigarette lighter, returning the orange glow to

the street. He just saw a tabby skulk around a corner and said to himself "Good luck, Harry Potter." With

a rustle of his cloak, he vanished from Private Drive.

A tabby cat simply sat on the roof of number nine. Watching as the populace began to start their day. It

watched as a certain woman shrieked when she found a baby sleeping, with a hand clamped onto a piece

of parchment, on her now abnormal doorstep. The cat rolled its eyes and jumped across the gap to number

ten, heading for London.

And as Harry Potter was awoken in a strange world by a scream. He did not

know he was famous. He did not know that one day, his life would change by a simple piece of parchment.

And what no one else knew, not even the Headmaster of Hogwarts, was that, only a mile away from number four, a bird was flying towards Private Drive. It had found Harry Potter.

* * *

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

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A/N: Whew! What a chapter! Once again I apologize for the same direction this chapter has with the book

but I needed to set the story more before I dive deeper into my plot. Sorry! But here's three challenges of

varying difficulty for you guys while I'm typing the next chapter.

Thanks to:

**1314**

**Thawk6**

**Phantom1s**

**Dramalover57**

**Comet Moon**

**Darkplayer35**

**1**.Leave a comment. (Easy)

**2**.Type in an idea or two for the plot. Best ones get bragging rights, acknowledgments, and a part

somewhere in the entire series ! (Medium)

**3**.Try and guess who or what the bird in the story is! (Hard)

I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be (CURSE YOU SCHOOL!), but I can promise you it will show a lot more to my plot.

SuperXBrother


	3. Life

A/N: MAMA MIA! TWENTY THREE REVIEWS IN JUST THREE AND A HALF DAYS! AND

ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MARKED ME/THIS AS A FAVORITE AUTHOR OR STORY!

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

Although I must apologize for the formatting. I am still getting used to . I know that

it isn't the most readable, but I am working to make it the best I can for my viewers. I also am not

copying from "notepad". It is all one hundred percent made on my Microsoft Documents. Chapter Two

will probably be the driest and most similar to the books out of the entire story(once again SORRY!) I

promise that the first chapter's glory will prevail. There might be some similar chapters to the

books. Again I do apologize for the inconveniences it is bringing my readers. And thanks for pulling

through anyway guys!

Thanks To:

**Michael4HPGW**

**Darkplayer35**

**A Reader**

**Comet Moon**

**mdauben**

**theboywholives**

**laurencracefan**

**Thawk6**

**hushpuppy22**

**I don't know d you**

**usernames are for losers**

**Beast1989**

**kittykatkitkat**

**DukeBrymin**

**Miss L. W. R.**

**Patronus56**

**Results From Chapter Two Challenge!**

1. CORRECT! (Everyone won the challenge! YAY!)

2. Correct! (Certain people won the challenge! I'll say exactly who when their idea is in a part of a

chapter.)

3. Failure! (No one has guessed correctly yet. But some of the guesses are close. They may (or may not)

end up in the story, quite possibly in a twisted, warped version of what you were thinking at the time!. I'll

do the same as Q.2. When the time comes. But you'll just have to wait and see! Ha Ha Ha!

_**I don't own Harry Potter. Its all J.K. Rowling.**_

P.S.S. NEW CHALLENGES BELOW AT END OF STORY!

The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone

Chapter Three

Life, Letters, and a Phoenix

The house of Number Four Privite Drive had not changed since the delivery of ten years ago. The only

sign of time difference was the pictures(extra wide versions) on top of the electric fireplace mantel. All

had not one single speck of dust upon them. For that would ruin the image of perfection that was Mr. and

Mrs. Dursley's son, Dudley. In some, the sleek, polished, wooden frames held photos of a over inflated

beach ball. In others there was a yoga ball with the face of a screaming toddler. The most recent ones were

that of the overblown exercise ball being showered with adoration by his larger yoga ball father and his

under inflated, skinny, tiny waist mother. There was no signs at all that another lived in the house of

number four, or as a certain six year old in broken glasses called it, prison.

None of Privite Drive knew of the small, scrawny child. For his "family" never mentioned him. None

knew that the Dursleys blamed him for every creek and crack they found in their house. None knew that

for nearly every birthday, Harry would receive the beating of his life, twice as bad as the year before.

(Flashback)

Harry had been sleeping in his bedroom, the cupboard underneath the stairs when a sharp shrieking voice

Shouted,

"UP! NOW!" Harry was still tired. He remembered having a strange dream. There were weird golden

lights flying around. He got up off the floor, shook a spider from his nose, and stepped into the hall. It

was dawn. The dawn of his birthday! He followed his aunt into the kitchen, wondering if they were going

to throw him a party. He couldn't remember his other birthdays well, he was too young to.

"Now you know what to do? Or must I explain once again?" his aunt screeched. "And don't even think

about burning anything!"

Harry's mouth hung open.

"That food comes out of our HARD EARNED money! And we don't need freaks like you to waste it.

Harry was in shock, to say the least.

"B-but Aunt Petunia… it's my b-birthday." he stuttered. "Can't I take the d-day off? Please! I'll do extra

work tomorrow and-"

He was cut off by Mr. Dursley laughing as he entered the room.

"And why would we, fine, normal folk, celebrate the birth of you? A burden to our normal lives." He

sneered.

"But-but…" Harry stuttered, not knowing why his family was treating him this way.

"Stop mumbling and cook our breakfast, Duddy-kin is going to wake up soon and you'd better not ruin a

perfectly good meal. He is a growing boy and shouldn't be starved to death just because some freaks are

too ungrateful to do a few chores. COOK!. NOW!" his aunt commanded.

Harry looked down at the floor in defeat and walked to the stove. Too ungrateful to do a few chores? Ha!

The Dursleys wouldn't last a day with out him working leg and limb. And Dudley being starved to death?

That ogre could survive on his own weight without any food for ten lifetimes. But if Harry pointed out any

one of these thoughts, asked one question, or complained just once, he would find himself severely

punished. He knew better than to object there requests. But today he simply asked,

"Can I please not cook today?" Knowing what the answer would be.

"And miss out on the honor of making our very food?" his aunt proclaimed as if it was like winning the

lottery. "I think not!"

Duddy, now in his high chair, began to whine for his food and his mother soothing him while shooting

death glares at Harry.

Harry, distracted by his aunt, knocked the egg that his aunt had set on the counter for him to fry, onto the

floor. A loud CRACK rang through the house of number four only to be complimented by Dudley's

temper tantrum. And not a moment later, Harry found himself, once again, staring at the door, locked

under the stairs. But only after a good whack in the skull from the pan he was just holding, courtesy of his

aunt.

(END FLASHBACK)

This time however, as he stepped into the kitchen, Harry was not going to ruin the Dursley's breakfast. He

mixed the coffee to Mr. and Mrs. Dursley's exact preferences. He made sure that Dudley's cereal had

enough sugar coated on top, he had used the entire bag. When he served the food, his three relatives eyed

it suspiciously. It was not common for Harry to take such precautions in perfecting their food. Dudley

began to slop down the cereal, milk, sugar, and possibly the bowl itself. Petunia sipped her coffee, her

hand shaking a bit, but seemed pleased. Mr. Dursley was still checking his coffee, bacon, and eggs very

thoroughly as if he were testing to see if the food contained poison in its ingredients. Harry sat down at the

table quietly not eating . If he so much as thought about food before the Dursley's bellies were happy and

full.. well.. it wouldn't end too well for young Harry Potter.

As Harry watched Vernon Dursley's car pull out of the road and out of Private Drive, his aunt gave him

the list for his usual, hectic cores.

"I want all this done. No exceptions!" and without one other word she stalked off to the kitchen. Harry

gazed down at the long list.

_**FREAK'S CHORES**_

_Clean Dudley's Bedroom, Clean Dudley's Second Bedroom, Sweep the floor, Clean the stairs, Clean out closets, Water the Garden, Wash the laundry, Dry the Laundry, Fold clothes, Put clothes back in closets, Clean sitting room, Clean master bedroom, Clean windows, Cook Dinner, Go to bed immediately._

Harry groaned. It wasn't that he wasn't used to these same old chores, but they had never told him to do t

his much in one day. But if he didn't…but now wasn't the time to worry about punishments. He had until

tonight to finish all fifteen tasks. He got the mop out of the closet and walked up the stairs. He rounded

slowly over to Dudley's room. He carefully opened the door but slammed it shut when his nose whiffed the

horrible odor of his five year old, pig of a cousin. It smelled much worse than usual. He pulled his shirt's

collar over his mouth and stepped inside. His last few thoughts, before he began gagging, were about how

Dudley could survive sleeping here in his own stench and whether he would live more than a minute in

the pig's chambers.

It was both good and bad since Harry lived through the whale's stench filled bedroom. The good news was

he was going to live(which would be a disappointment to the Dursleys). The bad news? Well, he took

three showers than day but still could not be rid of the horrible odor he encountered at the beginning of

the freak's chore list page.

That night had turned out to be worse for Harry than the smells of Dudley's chamber entering and

threatening to turn his nostrils to acid (Scary…). Vernon Dursley had stomped into the house of Number

Four Privite Drive. in a right foul, mood swinging, rage. His face was impossible, inhumanly shades of

purple, black, and red, all at the same time His veins were as visible as if someone had just drawn them on

with a permanent, electric blue marker. He had the usual rant every now and then, complaining about the

faults of his employees at work, or the less than perfect products they sold, or even the ludicrous mere

thought of a man wanting a bit more than minimum wages, just so he could feed his children. No

this was much, much worse. He had just received the notice requiring his presence for an important

lawsuit made against him and his company of 'Grunnings'. It did not matter that the drill had forced the

victim to go to the emergency room at the hospital. It did not matter that it was the wife of an American

ambassador that was now lying on a bed, strapped to a machine. It was not his fault that his company's

drills were made from poorly constructed, cheap parts. Sold on the black market! It was an outrage! A

horrendous scandal faked so the damn politician could have more money and an even bigger ego! It was

obviously not his fault! And then he saw the freak.

"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" he spat at the young boy who was opening the door

to his cupboard.

"I-I was just-"

"You were just what?" He got up from the armchair he was sitting in. "By the way, I haven't given you

your birthday present." He seized Harry's arms and after many struggles, gave him his "present" as his

aunt and cousin watched gleefully. He found himself flaat on the floor. Harry began to scream and just as

his uncle's foot came crashing down upon his ribs, something happened. Harry Potter saw nothing but

gold in his eyes and then he blacked out.

Harry woke to an immense pain. As far as he could tell, he had many broken bones. The best he could

guess at the moment was three or four ribs, one arm, and one leg. He could not move a muscle inside the

dark cupboard, locked away as if he didn't exist. He was surprised that he could still breathe properly. But

then the gold and dizziness overtook him as he slumped back into slumber.

Harry could see nothing but black once more but it went on forever.

'This must be where the dead go' he thought sadly. But in front of him, something seemed to be trying to

break the plains of darkness. A light shot from nothing and broke into tiny sparks. Gold sparks.

Harry found himself back in the cupboard. He could move his fingers now and the pains weren't as great.

He heard voices from outside the door.

"-doesn't seem to wake up." said a voice.

"Humph," grunted another. "Better for us all. Leave him in there!" It could only be from his uncle.

"But what about _them?… _could come…_check_…_him_…_freaks…_" Harry struggled to listen to the

Faint voices but fell prey to the dark once again. And so this process would keep up. Harry would wake to

a world of black and be witness to strange shows of gold light. Then he would wake and feel slightly

more energized. He could only guess that the lights were somehow healing him. It was a wild guess but

being locked into a room that tiny for so long could do that to you. He also noticed the lights were also

becoming stronger and brighter each time. They also appeared to be shaping into a faint form, but what?

Harry once more woke to the familiar black world. The lights broke through blackness and performed

their usual, strange dances.

Soon though they began to cluster together. The lights danced like flames.

The sparkles ceased dancing and a voice spoke...

"Harry, its been a while!"

A/N: I am so evil! Leaving a cliffhanger like that! YEAH! I know you guys have tons of questions,

Who was the voice from?

What were the golden lights?

What was the black world?

When will Ginny come in?

Where is the golden phoenix I add in at the end of each chapter?

And finally (and the one you'll ask the most) WHEN WILL I UPDATE AGAIN?

Only I know the answers to these and more. Do the challenges below and find out next time.

**NEXT TIME**

**Chapter Four**

**Life, Letters, and a Phoenix: Part Two**

**Chapter 3 Challenges**

**1. Leave a comment**

**2. Send a name you'd like for a magical creature, I'll pick the best one and announce the winner. **

** what will happen next!**


	4. The Heir

A/N: HEY GUYS! GUESS HOW MANY REVIEWS! 36 OF THEM! THANKS!

Sorry about the wait. I rewrote this three times!

I simply had an idea where Lily put a special ritual around her son Harry. Now that simple idea has evolved into the soon to be series you will all one day read. This accomplishment will be all thanks to my great readers. This part of the story may be confusing to some. Sorry about the wait once again. (SCHOOL!). Once again guys, THANKS!

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. J.K. Rowling takes all the credit.

**Thanks to:**

**Jenna Stevens**

**Jedi Knight 3**

**Fairqueen2**

**Thawk6**

**Spartan20**

**usernames are for losers**

**DukeBrymin**

**Cheyenne Hao**

**Mdauben**

**Grand Immortal Blindmerman**

**hpgwfan628**

**sp**

**The Results Are In!**

**BRAGGING RIGHTS GO TO…**

**hpgwfan628-for-golden lights**

**Jedi Knight 3-for-voice/lights/black world/gold phoenix **

**Thawk6-for-magical creature name**

**Fairqueen2-for-magical creature name**

**CONGRADULATIONS!**

**KEEP ON GUESSING AND YOU MIGHT BECOME A SUPERXBRAGGER!**

**And Now Introducing **

**The Newest Member Of The Lord And Lady Phoenix Team**

**MY NEW BETA**

**THAWK6!**

**Welcome to the team Thawk6!**

**And now, without any more words to say, the team of SuperXBrother and Thawk6 give you Chapter Four.**

_Previously in The Lord and Lady Phoenix_

_Chapter Three_

_Life, Letters, and a Phoenix_

_Harry once more woke to the familiar black world. The lights broke through blackness and performed _

_their usual, strange dances. Soon though they began to cluster together. The lights danced like flames. _

_The sparkles ceased dancing and a voice spoke..._

"_Harry, its been a while!"_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix**

**Chapter Four**

**The Heir of the Phoenix**

"Harry, it's been awhile!"

Harry looked around but there was no one but himself inside the world of darkness. No one except for the clump of golden lights in front of him. He didn't know if it could be possible for light to talk. Nervously, he tried to talk back to the light.

"A-are you talking to m-me?" The light wiggled just as a slight laugh filled the air. They danced in similar patterns to the ones he witnessed before in his awakenings and slumbers.

"Oh, I apologize. I see that it is difficult for you to converse with me like this. Hang on a minute." The lights swirled around. Faster and faster. They became a solid gold disc. The disc spun faster and faster. Then it emitted a blinding white flash, illuminating the dark, black land for some seconds. The flash ran away. But what shocked young Harry the most was the thing that stood where the light disc once was.

It was the size of a swan and its shiny feathers could have been confused for pure, twenty four karat gold. It had a long plume of ruby hair running down its head, and long, gold, ribbons for a tail. Its eyes were its most strange feature, they switched between red, orange, and gold, like a fire burning within itself. It took from the ground, startling Harry. It swooped in circles and patterns gracefully around the black airs. It then took to a dive from high above and landed upon his very own shoulder.

"W-What are you?" Harry finally found his voice once more. The bird simply stared at him from his left shoulder and said,

"Dear Harry, I am a creature that your kind would recall as a bird of flames. A swan of fire. I am known as a phoenix. You may call me Ardoris." The flames in its eyes seemed to burn proudly as it revealed this knowledge. Harry's emerald eyes were swirling with confusion as they tried to process the sight that they was seeing in front of them.

"A t-talking Phoenix?" he asked. "How is that possible? Why are you here? What is this place? Where am I?" Harry was blurring out a million questions a second now and the golden phoenix trilled in amusement.

"My, my, my, you asked a lot of questions. Merlin's beard, curious as a kitten, just like his mother…" He said this more to himself than Harry, who stopped in an instant at the mention of his mother.

"My, my mother? You knew her? How?" The great fire bird sighed sadly. To Harry, this question seemed to upset the bird greatly. "Oh…I'm sorry. I-if you don't want to talk about it-"

"No Harry!" Ardoris interrupted instantly. Harry flinched at the outburst of the bird. " I'm sorry Harry. I…please forgive me. It hasn't been easy.. to know about this…but you need to know…" he seemed to be trying to figure out how to explain his story. "I'm sorry Harry. I've had five years to go over how to tell you this yet I still stumble for the right words." The bird bowed in apology. Harry petted him gently on the head.

"It-its okay Ardoris. I do want to know though…what did you mean by five years of trying to figure it out?" The phoenix replied,

"Ah! Yes, that is a good place to begin actually. You see Harry… well I don't know how to say this exactly but…your mother, she was a witch." Harry stared at the bird, his somewhere between amazement and shock at the possibility that what the phoenix was saying was true.

"My mom was a w-witch?" He asked slightly scared and awed. The gold bird nodded.

"Yes Harry, she was a witch. And your father was a wizard. Both were some of the best of their age. And yes Harry Potter, this mean that you are a wizard." To say Harry was overwhelmed by this was the biggest lie of the century.

"Me? But I can't be a w-wizard. I'm nobody special." Ardoris looked mad but kept his voice even.

"Harry, you are special. But you don't even know who you are. The fact that I'm here speaking to you proves that fact. You see, I was going to speak with you on your next birthday, when your magic would be easier to train, but after that damned uncle of yours, and his family doing what they did…well to tell you the truth Harry, I've been watching you. Waiting for the right time for you to be able to train and learn about who you really are. I tried to minimize the damage they brought upon you, but I was only as strong as you were back then. But we both almost died from those people. If it hadn't been for our abilities and magic, we would have. When I saw how Vernon almost killed you, I knew that I couldn't wait any longer.

So I emitted the light that you saw and brought you here, into where our minds meld into one. I had to bring you here so I could bring you back to life. Once I did, I could begin to explain. But now the time is near for you to awaken. I have fully healed you, however, there will be some pains when you strain yourself. When you go back to sleep tonight, I shall be here to begin your training." Ardoris took off to the sky from his perch of Harry's shoulder. He watched as the phoenix began to glow. With a final cry, the black turned to golden light, and Harry passed out once more.

Harry awoke to find himself not in a dark, spider filled, cupboard. But rather a clean white room. His vision cleared and he reached for his taped glasses. He placed them over his green eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room. He realized in an instant that he was in a hospital room! The door to his left opened and in came a man in a white doctor suit. He looked at him, amazed. He rushed to the side of his bed and said,

"YOU"RE AWAKE? Oh…I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Hello Harry. I'm Doctor Brown. I can't believe this! Your awake and all of our top experts said you would be in a coma for a week! Your family had an important event to go to, but I'm sure they'll be back soon once they hear the news.

'Yeah right' thought Harry as Doc Brown started to check on Harry's condition.

After an entire day of checkups, scans, and needles, Harry couldn't wait to fall back asleep and meet up with Ardoris. He gazed out the window in the room, watching the crescent moon rise into the sky before the feeling of gold auras overtook him into slumber.

Harry once again woke to the sight of the phoenix, Ardoris. But he noticed that the bird was much more clear than before.

"Hello Harry, bout time you got here." Harry blushed in embarrassment. "No matter though. Now as

I was saying last night, your mother and father were both magical as well as you. Now then, there are many kinds of witches and wizards. And Harry, this is very important. Not all wizards are good. Some go bad. A few years ago there was one who went as far as you can get. His name was Voldemort. He had hundreds of followers. And not only witches and wizards but also many dark creatures and followers.

He was bringing up an army. And he had an all time goal, to escape death. To be all-powerful, forever. Anyone who opposed him would end up dead. And then one day, Voldemort received information that scared him. An all powerful lord, with an army of thousands of followers, was scared. Why? Because this information stated what could possibly be his downfall. This info was a prophesy. It went like this." Ardoris paused and spoke in a deep voice,

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..." Ardoris resumed his normal trills._

"This prophesy was believed by the Dark Lord, to be his downfall. He believed that it would be caused by a child. A child born at the end of July. This could have applied to two children though. You or a boy named Neville Longbottom. Both of you were born at the end of July, just as the information stated. But it also stated that the dark lord would mark him as his equal." Ardoris's fiery eyes were dim.

"Because of this prophesy, your parents went into hiding. However, it was futile as the dark lord had many spies, one of which easily revealed their location. Then on the 31st of October, 1981, Voldemort came to their location, Godric's Hollow. Your father held him off while Lily took you and ran. But his attempt was easily silenced by the dark lord." Ardoris stopped his story and looked around.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Harry, but you need to awaken. We will finish our tale next time." Harry felt once more the black disappear and his eyes opening to the hospital room again. The doctors said that he would be released to go home the next day. The day was much like the one before. Scans, tests, and needles galore! Night fell and so did Harry.

"Yes, now where were we?" Ardoris asked.

"My father died." said a saddened Harry.

"Yes, now okay. Your mother knew that she was to die as well. But Harry, the knowledge I am about to share with you must not be repeated by anyone. Do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Okay, what do you know about the most powerful witch and wiz-"

"I believe," said a gentle voice from above. "that we should tell the boy ourselves, my dear Ardoris." Ardoris straightened, bowed, and nudged Harry to do the same. He did. Then he felt a hand upon his head.

"Rise my child." the voice commanded. Harry did as the voice ordered and looked In awe at the three figures in front of him. Two of them were humans, one male, one female, the third was another golden bird. The two humans were obviously magical. They were dressed in simple, but elegant robes. And pure power radiated off of them. The man was middle-aged, with salt and pepper hair, falling to his shoulders. He wore blue, floor length robes and held a gold staff with a sapphire orb on its end. The woman had black hair, curling elegantly to her back. She wore red robes. And like the man, held a gold staff, but with a ruby orb at the end. The phoenix was an exact replica of Ardoris, but looked more feminine. The two birds took to the sky, playing with each other. Leaving Harry alone with the witch and wizard. The witch said,

"Hello Harry. My name is Morgana Le Fay. And this is my husband Merlin." Harry was shocked at the thought that these two ancient people were still alive.

"How are you alive?" The two looked at each other and laughed.

"Well because we are immortal." Morgana replied simply. Merlin spoke as well. .

"Harry, we have much to discuss. You see, me and my wife lived thousands of years ago. We were the most powerful magical ones who ever lived. But we married and lived in secret, for we wished not to harm the non-magical folk, though they were frightened of us and killed as many of our kind as possible. We could have easily be rid of them, but we believed in peace." His wife spoke bitterly.

"They could never find us, so they made up rumors about us being rivals and battling and all other sorts of hogwash stories." Her husband stared uncomfortably between Harry and his wife.

"Y-yes the mortals were arrogant and believed they had scared us off and so the rumors spread like wildfire. Soon we found ourselves with children. Four of them. Their names were Godric, Rowena, Helga, and Salazar. We gave them immortality as well. They were known as the greatest witches and wizards of their time. Together they constructed a magical school, dedicated to teaching young witches and wizards the art of magic." Harry's eyes lit up at the thought of the school. "This magical school came to be known as Hogwarts. Each of the four founders believed in a different attribute for learning." Morgan spoke again.

"Godric believed in bravery. Helga believed in loyalty. Rowena believed in intellect. Salazar believed in ambition. Their differences put forth the action of different 'houses'. Each house would focus on a different style of learning. The school opened and the children were taught. The four agreed that eleven would be a substantial age to begin learning the art. Soon the founders retired from teaching and family came to be. Godric married Rowena and Salazar married Helga." They saw Harry's face, the thought of siblings marrying each other was strange to him. Merlin spoke.

"Harry, back then it was dangerous to be of the magical kind. We were sought after and hunted. It wasn't the easiest life style and back then, marriage laws were not made. We all decided it was easier to marry as we did. Besides, the children did really love each other." At this time, Harry calmed down a bit, and felt some guilt.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely.

"Apology accepted." The two spoke together. Merlin spoke once more.

"Now Harry, as we said, it was dangerous to be magical. None even in the magical world know that the four founders were our children. Throughout the ages there were many evil people. Not everyone liked the idea for the magical school. To say that they were our children would put them in even more danger. Each married couple lived in secret. And over time they did have children, just as we did. But to make absolutely sure that they would be protected, Morgana invented a ritual that would make the one it was placed upon receive the powers of those before them, to protect them. As each child was born, the parent who was descended from us would do the ritual. This would be done for each generation. But over time some of our ways were lost and some children did not receive the ritual. They would be killed because their magical scent would be to powerful for anyone seeking power to resist. Those descendents would be slaughtered, manipulated, any of that sort. The line of our decedents continued. But soon, it began to shrink. The ways the magical world are today are so different from our time. It has been corrupted by greed and arrogance. The last of Helga and Salazar's decedents was tortured by her father and brother. The family she was born to had lost all of our ways, which were replaced by the ideas of blood purity. Many thought that witches and wizards born from parents who were magical, would be better than those born to those who were magical but had at least one non-magical heritage. This blood mania resulted in many witches and wizards who could not perform magic, though their parents were both magical. The tortured sister and daughter was one of those people, what today's world calls a squib. She would soon utterly disgrace her father and brother by having a child with a non magical man, a Muggle. The father soon left and the mother died after childbirth, leaving the baby an orphan. She could not perform the ritual before her death and the baby would one day become Lord Voldemort. The last of Godric's and Rowena's decedents however was born shortly after the rise of a different dark man. He believed in killing anyone who was more powerful than himself. He embraced the dark arts and was feared by many. Imagine his surprise when he found a mere baby who was more powerful. The baby's father had just recently performed the ritual upon her but soon was killed by the dark man. The girl's mother had no choice but to flee with her baby. However, she was gravely injured from the attack. She was able to escape the man and reach a muggle town. She placed the baby with a muggle family and modified their memories so they believed that she was their second child. The real mother shortly died thereafter.

The girl grew up as a muggle but was believed to be a muggle-born when she was accepted into Hogwarts. Her name was Lily. The name she had after her transfer was Evens. She was your mother. And that makes you our last living descendent with our ritual performed." Harry's mouth was a hundred feet under the ground.

"I-I'm your descendent?" Morgan placed an arm around Harry, pulling him into a hug.

"Yes Harry, you are. You have a family." The next ten minutes were filled of Harry shedding tears of joy. Merlon 's face became serious.

"Now Harry, don't forget that this makes you related to Voldemort as well. We need to train you for he is not dead. Soon your body will have enough magical energy to allow Ardoris to leave your body and exist in the real world." Ardoris landed upon Merlin's shoulder and the female phoenix upon Morgana's. The female glared at Merlin.

"Oh! Yes! As well as Soleil. You see Harry, Ardoris was my phoenix and Soleil was Morgana's. Both have created a bond with you and…well I don't want to spoil the surprises in your future. You'll have to find out more about your heritage on your own. Do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Good. Okay now lets begin with the disarming charm, Expelliarmus.

TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP TLLP

A/N: Wow! What a chapter! So much has all ready been revealed! And much more will still come! Harry and Voldemort are the last descendents of Merlin and Morgana Le Fay? Could Harry and the Dark Lord possibly be cousins? Will Harry call Voldemort Uncle Tom? Find out next time in The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone.

Challenges

1. Comment

2. Guess how Harry will get to Diagon alley.

Winners will be announced soon.

See you next chapter!

_**S**__uper__**XB**__rother_


	5. Vault X

**AN: **Hey Guys. I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT! I AM GOING CRAZY WITH MY FREAKING MIDTERM EXAMS GOING ON. THANK GOODNESS FOR SNOW! I've been able to take a break and put this chapter online. Thank you for being so patient and loyal to this story. I hope it doesn't disappoint. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. Seventeen For Just Last Chapter Alone! Once again I apologize. You guys are the best! AND LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!

REMEMBER, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

**Thanks To**

**Laurencracefan**

**I'mSoHappy**

**earthlover**

****

**DukeBrymin**

**Mdauben**

**Fairqueen2**

**Nightwing 509**

**Thawk6**

**hpgwfan628**

**Jedi Knight 3**

**Mabye you should tell me**

**usernames are for losers**

**octopus86 'Max**

**sp**

**mcgurrin**

**tedlay**

**Results**

**1. **Everyone's a winner!

**2. **Traveling to Diagon Alley (laurencracefan, Fairqueen2, hpgwfan628, Maybe you should tell me, usernames are for losers)

**Bragging Rights go to…**

**earthlover**-for-harry's training

lysen5972-for-Vault X

**hpgwfan628**-for-harry's scar (thanks, I almost forgot about that)

KEEP IT UP, YOU MIGHT BE A SUPERXBRAGGER!

The Lord and Lady Phoenix

Chapter Five

The Vault of X

Harry Potter was now at the age of ten. His birthday would be next month and he would be eleven years old. Of course he now has the knowledge to know why his eleventh birthday would be so important. It would have become his first step into his magical education had it not been for his dreams he has had every night. And those dreams were not ordinary. No, they were strange. Strange even for a witch or wizard. For every single night since his fifth birthday, Harry would not be entering a dreamy wonderland of limitless imagination. No, every single night, he'd wake into his very mind and train with his ancestors. Merlin and Morgana Le Fay, who were the most powerful witch and wizard ever to live. Their partners Ardoris and Soleil, who were two golden phoenixes. And the four founders who built the castle known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowena and Godric had become something like a mother and father. Merlin and Morgana were his like his grand parents. Salazar and Helga had become similar to a true aunt and uncle. Harry finally had a family that loved him. And Harry would meet with his 'family' every night. And each night they trained. And Harry noticed that slowly, ever so slowly, the black was beginning to brighten into a bright molten gold.

Harry remembered one thing Rowena said that was crucial to his knowledge. A witch or wizard can learn any spell, curse, hex, or jinx. But without balance, the magic performed would be weak. Harry's training was slow. His 'grandparents' explained that building his magical core was like becoming a professional athlete. A ten old couldn't be expected to be able to keep pace with an Olympian Athlete. But if his core was balanced and practiced with, he could easily outrun the athlete. Especially if that athlete had no sense of balance at all. Harry was frustrated at first to learn that he wouldn't be powerful instantly as he thought since he was their heir, but soon accepted that he needed to develop his own magical core first.

The first lessons that the ancient ones gave him were ones about the theories of different magics. They explained that magic was like the human body. In an vague term, the body itself was magic. But there were different kinds, types, and forms of magic. Just as the body has many different kinds, types, and forms of systems. And inside each of those kinds of magic and systems, there were different subjects and organs and so forth. They taught Harry all their knowledge for the past few years and Harry shocked them with the amounts of knowledge he could contain. He was always eager to learn of the different bodies and systems of magic. After learning the theory, Harry surprised them even more with his first spell.

(Flashback)

"So Harry," Merlin began. "Do you understand how the process of the 'swish and flick' concept?" Harry nodded.

"Yes Merlin. I think so." Merlin nodded.

"Okay dear, lets see it your motion." said. Rowena. Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused in upon his magical core. He and his ancestors could feel the power radiating off of him. Harry thought of the swish and flick movement Morgana showed him earlier that same week. He thought about it with all his might but his concentration was shattered instantly. Gasps filled the air making Harry lose his focus and open his eyes. A thump was heard and something rolled by towards his feet. He looked ahead and saw Merlin in front of him, shock etched into his timeless face. Harry saw that all the others had similar looks upon their own but were looking at Merlin, more importantly, his empty wand arm. Harry looked and saw with sudden realization that Merlin stood in front of him completely defenseless. Looking down he saw the staff of Merlin lying right next to his toes. Morgana was the first to fill the void of five silent minutes.

"Harry…h-how did-"

"I-I've never seen this before…could it be…?" mumbled Rowena as she was going over the possibilities of what had just occurred. Harry could see the gears running overdrive inside her brain.

"Harry…you are special…I always knew you would be. But to this extent…" confessed Helga.

Salazar spoke as well. "Boy, you have some fine firepower inside you. Once you can control it…" The mouth of Salazar was now a cruel, twisted smirk.

"W-wait, what did I just do…I-I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? HOW CAN YOU BE SORRY! OH YEAH!" laughed the form of Godric, "That's my heir right there in front of us baby!"

"Honestly Godric, don't scare the poor boy." said Rowena as she scolded her husband. "He'll never want to do magic again if you keep up this whole shouting match of yours."

Merlin shouted, "ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!" And then he spoke in a much more gentle tone. "Harry, do you know what I had asked you?" Harry shook his head and asked in a quiet voice.

"You told me to use just a swish and flick motion and concentrate on my core, right?" He looked as if they were going to act the same as the Dursleys would. Merlin saw this and said,

"Yes Harry, I did. But you are not in trouble my dear boy. In fact, you have shown us just the tip of your power and you have not even scratched the shield surrounding your core. Harry, you performed an Expelliarmus charm by thinking about it and doing the motion. And to top it all off, you didn't even have a wand in your hand! If we continue to practice balancing your core, you will be the most powerful wizard of all time. Your magical scent already challenges ours and your abilities are not very far behind! Now lets see you do that again! Godric! Let us see how well Harry can do against the founder of Gryffindor!

(End Flashback)

Harry had developed a vast knowledge over the years. Studying with some of the greatest minds in the world could do that for you. His magical core had developed even more powerful. He could only do simple magic such as Wingardium Leviosa and Protego. But his theoretical knowledge was unmatched by even the great Albus Dumbledore. He had a great deal of knowledge about the wizarding world already and it was only escalating. His mind was so powerful that he already had a decent basis on Occlumency and Legilimency. He also was beginning to hear the elders mumble with each other when he was awake. He asked them about it, but they said he would have to become more powerful to speak freely with them awake. Ignoring Aunt Petunia's latest rant about Mrs. Next Door, Harry began thinking about Friday night's conversation with his ancestors.

(Friday Night)

Harry had again woken into the dark yellow world of his core and mind. The elders and founders were there to greet him as usual. Merlin spoke,

"Hello Harry, my boy I can't guess where the years have transfigured off to. Seems only yesterday when we all first met our own heir." He stepped back and Morgana came forth.

"Now dear, it is time for you to go prepare for Hogwarts and-"

"Y-you don't mean… Shopping? Oh…great." Helga spoke,

"Harry, c'mon. Its not like muggle shopping. There are really interesting stuff to buy in the wizarding world. Just try it…for us?"

"Fine. I guess your right about wizard shops being more interesting than their muggle counterparts. So I guess I'll live through it. Sorry, the times I've been forced to go shopping with the Dursleys haven't always been the greatest and…you know the rest." Harry heard Rowena mumble something like

"Wait until I get my hands on those no good, two timing, fat little-" Merlin spoke interrupting Rowena's plans for revenge on the Dursleys.

"Okay, now then Harry, you need to get to muggle London. You'll do this with Ardoris of course. We'll need you to cast a glamour charm as well so no one recognizes you. Once there-" Harry asked,

"Why can't Ardoris just transport us directly into Diagon Alley?" Morgana, Salazar, and Rowena shared a smile onto their faces. They knew that this boy would be a smart one. Morgana answered.

"Dumbledore is the only known wizard with a phoenix in all of Britain. If you even just flashed into an alley, the light, heat, and smoke would alert someone. Then the questions would start flying like Quidditch brooms. And the last thing we need is for Dumbledore to find out that Harry Potter is in Diagon Alley without his knowledge. If we enter like a normal wizard by using one of the entrances, nobody in the entire wizarding world will have any idea of the fact your there right under their noses. Got the plan Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good, now we'll take care of the Dursleys. It'll take a lot out of your core so you need to rest and recharge it tonight. Go to bed now." And with those words, Harry Potter fell asleep. The thoughts of the alley in his brain put a smile onto his face while he slept.

(Present Time)

The sun rose a few seconds later to Harry. As well as the knock of his aunt on the door. Her screech couldn't put a scratch on his mood though. Today was the day he was going to the Alley! He had been able to summon Ardoris from his magical core the day before so the golden bird was ready for the trip. Harry made the usual breakfast. Four time the amount serving five. For two plates were set aside for his aunt and uncle. The rest of the dish mountain was for his whale of a cousin. They waddled into the kitchen as usual and began to scarf down their food. Harry could feel the elders taking the energy needed from his core. Soon, the spell would be cast. Harry hummed quietly in sync with the vibrations his magic was giving. Then a shot a gold light burst from his eyes and blasted into each of the three Dursleys. Harry knew that the deed was done and headed back to the cupboard to go to London with Ardoris. He told Harry to grasp his tail feathers tight and to close his eyes. Harry felt a warm pleasure course through his body as the phoenix magic worked its many wonders. The flames came out from Ardoris's beak, creating a tomb of flames around them. Harry saw a million places a second as they shot through time and space. Then he felt the ground hit underneath his own two feet and the flames subsided. He stepped forward and felt his nose slam into something hard. His glasses fell off and the gold bird grasped them in his talons.

"Thanks." said Harry as he slid the pair back onto his head. "Uh…Ardoris, are we in a…" He looked around the small green room. There was a door with a lock in front of him. And a bird smiling cheekily on his right shoulder.

"Sorry, best place I could think not to attract attention." Harry looked behind him and saw a white object on the floor.

"And flames appearing in a bathroom stall won't attract any attention. What if there was someone using this toilet right now? What would we do then?" Ardoris was laughing at Harry's questions.

"S-s-sorry, was-n't th-think-inkking HA HA HA! But the l-look on y-your face r-right now…" He fell onto the floor in his trilling laughter.

"Serves you right." Harry mumbled as he stepped out of the stall. He looked into the bathroom mirror and concentrated on his core. He placed an image into his mind and then opened them. Looking at him in the mirror was almost the same person. The boy in the mirror had slightly bluer eyes than Harry Potter did. The elders warned him to change them or else someone might realize who he was. He still liked the color his eyes were so he only changed them slightly. He modified his face shape slightly and his forehead was scar-free. He could now go anywhere he pleased in the Alley since no one would recognize him. Morgana said that people had been going crazy trying to find any boy with a scar on his head. She stated many stories about how wizarding families sometimes charmed their children to pose as Harry Potter. A boy they took in out of the generosity of their hearts. These pathetic attempts were often just for fame. But when the blood test were done, then families left the buildings in shame and disgrace. Harry knew that he still looked like Harry Potter, but changing one's appearance took energy. Energy that he was still developing at the moment.

The hidden boy then cast a Disillusionment charm on Ardoris. He left the men's room and felt a weight on his shoulder.

"By the way Ardoris, what did the elders do to the Dursleys to make them not notice me anyway? I was so excited to see Diagon Alley that I forgot to check what happened to them. Smirking, Ardoris said simply, "You don't want to know." And left it at that. Harry followed the invisible bird's directions into a shady looking pub that no one else seemed to notice.

The door creaked open as he stepped inside. He earned a few glances but none of the cloaked men or women said anything to him. A few seemed to be concentrating on the top of his head. Harry briskly walked past the tables and bar while old the barman called out, "Anything you need boy?" Harry shook his head . The barman shrugged and went back to serving butterbeers to a droopy eyed man.

"See Harry," Ardoris said as they came upon a large brick wall. "Nobody in there thought you were that other boy. They looked at your forehead, but there was no scar to gawk at. Therefore, you were not worth their time. You were just a regular, normal wizard boy going to Diagon Alley. "You are untouchable and nobody knows about it." Harry nodded and felt the bird shift his weight. Harry heard a talon graze over a brick on the wall and it pushed backwards. The brick next to it shuddered and did the same thing. Then the one next to that spun and twisted. The patterns continued for about fifteen seconds until there was a perfect archway. Right in the spot where there was once a solid brick wall. Harry walked through and his face was carved with amazement. Ardoris trilled and said,

"Welcome Harry, to Diagon Alley."

The alley was something Harry could not explain. There were hundreds of witches and wizards of all ages walking up and down the cobblestone walkways. All entering and exiting the hundreds of shops selling bits and bobs, all of which he had never seen before. There were ice cream shops, book shops, robes shops, and sweet shops. So many that young Harry couldn't count. He walked down the cobblestone walkway wishing he had ninety eight extra eyes so he could look in every direction. There were owls soaring overhead, broomsticks swooping down from above. Cats prancing around. Toads croaking loud. He couldn't wait to go into the stores.

"Okay Harry," said the trill of the invisible Ardoris. "I know that you have changed your mind about shopping, but first you need money." Harry's shoulders slumped.

"But Ardoris I don't have any-"

"Yes of course you do Harry. You don't think your mother and father were beggars do you? The house of Potter was one of the oldest ever. And you've also got your mother being a descendent of the elders, so that will have a bit of profit involved. It's all inside Gringotts." Harry's eyes widened. He remembered a dream he had long ago, before he had ever met the elders. He had heard a woman tell him to go to a place named Gringotts and all would be revealed. Could it be possible…?

"Ardoris, we need to get to my secret vault, now." Ardoris looked shocked for a second. Harry began walking again as the voice trilled, "Secret vault?" Harry spoke with Ardoris through their connection so no one could hear them at all. He explained what he remembered from the dream. Ardoris was even more shocked.

"Harry, we need to get there. That big white building. It's right there." Harry stepped forward and gazed at the huge snowy white building in front of him. The stone surface gleamed in the light. Its long columns towered over the other shops. The huge silver 'G' stood like an eye watching over Diagon Alley, protecting it. And in between the two columns stood two bronze doors. A large inscription with foot high words was carved into the doors.

"_Enter, stranger, but take heedOf what awaits the sin of greedFor those who take, but do not earn,Must pay most dearly in their if you seek beneath our floorsA treasure that was never yours,Thief, you have been warned, bewareOf finding more than treasure there._"

Harry took a deep breath and stepped under the silver 'G' . He took a trembling hand, grasped the handle, opened the door and stepped inside. He walked through a set of silver doors with the same inscription. Harry Potter was inside the vast lobby of Gringotts. There were short humanoid creatures with long fingers and feet. They had long, pointy ears and Harry deemed them to be much smarter than most witches and wizards.

"Goblins Harry, show formality when speaking to them. They never appreciate rudeness." Ardoris warned. "Just keep calm and ask for Harry James Potter's vault. They'll take care of the rest." Harry nodded and walked up to an free desk.

"Yes?" They goblin asked.

"Hello sir. I would like to see my vault." Harry said as formally as he knew how.

"Name?"

"Harry." Harry thought for a second that he saw a bit of shock on the goblin's face.

"Surname?"

"Potter." The shock had returned.

"B-but you don't…he is…" He stumbled to find the right words. "Let me get the Goblin in charge of your account." He walked/rushed over to another goblin. He whispered something into his pointed ear and pointed back at Harry. The other goblin nodded and walked into one of the many halls branching off of the lobby. The first goblin hurried back towards Harry. "Follow me." he walked off into the hallway and Harry followed. Soon they stopped at an old looking door and the goblin turned toward him. "Enter." Harry thanked him. The goblin looked surprised but hurried off. Harry entered into the door.

At the other side of the old room was the goblin he saw before. He had glasses and long graying hair. Behind him stood a single podium with a large, thick, dusty book. He looked over Harry and said,

"You claim to be Harry Potter. Correct?"

"Yes sir." The goblin looked him over, trying to decide whether what he claimed was the truth.

"My name is Griphook and I am the Goblin in charge of Harry James Potter's vault.

"Hello Griphook."

"Many have said this claim before to try and claim the Potter fortune. We have proven every single one their claims to be false with a single test. Come forth boy." Harry did as told. Griphook looked at the dusty book. "This boy, is the Book of Gringotts. Every single being who has ever stepped foot into Gringotts has had their name recorded into this book. To prove that you are who you claim to be, you must place one drop of blood into the book. Many before you have had mental breakdowns from improperly placing claims through this book. Now then…say who you are before the blood drops onto the book." He handed Harry a silver needle. Harry took it gratefully and pricked his finger. He opened the book and saw that all of its pages were blank. He held the pricked finger over a blank page and said clearly,

"I AM HARRY JAMES POTTER." The blood fell, a single red dot splattered onto the page and broke into a million scarlet droplets. The droplets scattered everywhere across the book. They crisscrossed, leaving red trails in their place. They connected and scattered. The droplets soon fell into the parchment itself. Upon the parchment in red was a masterpiece of images. And inside those images were these blood red words.

Harry James Potter

Son of Lily and James Potter

James Roy Potter

Born-

Died-31, October,1981

Status-deceased

Species-Human

Blood Status- Pure Blood

Descendent of- Ignotus Peverell

Extra-N/A

Lily Sarah Potter (née Stone)

Born-30, January, 1960

Died-31, October, 1981

Status-deceased

Species-Human

Blood Status-Pure Blood

Descendent of Merlon, Morgana, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw

Extra-Born to Irisia(Deceased) and Wastnon(Deceased) Stone. Wastnon died during an attack by Conjorca, self proclaimed dark god. Irisia gravely wounded but able to hide Lily Stone with Evans Family. Bewitched Evans family to believe Lily to be their daughter.

**Sole Heir **

**Of**

**Vault X**

Harry looked up at the shocked and awed face of Griphook.

"Sir, what is Vault X?"

A/N: I am finally finished with this chapter! With the end of this one we will have broken the 15,000 words wall! It is my pleasure to leave a cliff hanger like this that will drive you guys crazy! What will happen next? Who was the Dark God named Conjorca? What is the mysterious Vault X? Well you guys will have to wait. It won't be as long this time. I promise it! I'm already working on the next chapter! Until then, do these challenges!

Challenges

1. Leave a comment.

2. What is Vault X?

3. I'm thinking about Harry getting a pet besides Hedwig. She will be in the story so owl fans, don't fear!

I was thinking about a certain creature from the 4th or 5th Harry Potter Book. I'll leave that hint to you

guys. Tell me what you think the pet will be. And don't forget a name suggestion once you guess!

Find out next time in The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone Chapter Six

AND REMEMBER, **LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!**


	6. Vault X Part Two

Hi Everyone! I've finally updated again! I've decided that after every five or so chapters, I'm also going to put a Story Stats at the top of a chapter. These will include Review Numbers, Number of chapters so far, Number of words as of last chapter, Hits, C2s, Favorites, Alerts, and more. These stats will be a dedication to all you great readers out there in the Wizarding World. I also now have a question section answering the questions you guys send me.

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

_**Story Stats**_

_**As of Chapter Five**_

Number of Reviews 74

Number of Chapters 5

Number of Words 15,527

Hits 8898

C2s 6

Favorites 55

Alerts 111

_**Thanks To,**_

Nightwing 509

DukeBrymin

Thawk6

Buddygirl1004

mmendoza688

hpgwfan628

ProfessorChris

Comet Moon

Dramalover57

Fairqueen2

PuppyProngs

octopus86 'Max

lysen5972

Maybe you should tell me

fannnnn

loretta537

usernames are for losers

Glitch200X

mr mark gibbs 1989

floyddickey

jbfritz

_**Bragging Rights Go To…**_

hpgwfan628-for-Dumbledore

lysen5972-for-Vault X

usernames are for losers-for-who Harry is, book

_**Questions and Answers**_

Earthlover-ch 4-portraits…

Fairqueen2-I do not live in New England. I live in Virginia but we have been gifted with a lot of snow recently

Dukebrymin-ch 5**-**Watch pokemon, Ash(teacher) and May(student) to find out. (but with less bickering)

Comet Moon-ch 5-Next Chapter

Floyddickey-ch 5**- **Ma_**y**_b_**e**_, Po_**s**_sibly in the next chapter.

_**Things to know so far,**_

Lily's real last name-Stone

Lily's adopted last name-Evans

Lily's Birth Mother- Irisia Stone

Lily's Birth Father- Wastnon Stone

Lily's blood rank- pureblood (family does not believe in blood purity)

**This chapter of The Lord and Lady Phoenix is dedicated to my friend Glitch200X. He just started on the site so send him some advice and tips. This chapter is for you Glitch200X!**

_Previously On the Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone_

_Harry James Potter_

_Son of Lily and James Potter_

_James Roy Potter _

_Born-_

_Died-31, October,1981_

_Status-deceased _

_Species-Human_

_Blood Status- Pure Blood_

_Descendent of- Ignotus Peverell_

_Extra-N/A_

_Lily Sarah Potter (née Stone)_

_Born-30, January, 1960_

_Died-31, October, 1981_

_Status-deceased _

_Species-Human_

_Blood Status-Pure Blood_

_Descendent of Merlon, Morgana, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw_

_Extra-Born to Irisia(Deceased) and Wastnon(Deceased) Stone. Wastnon died during an attack by Conjorca, self proclaimed dark god. Irisia gravely wounded but able to hide Lily Stone with Evans Family. Bewitched Evans family to believe Lily to be their daughter. _

_**Sole Heir **_

_**Of**_

_**Vault X**_

_Harry looked up at the shocked and awed face of Griphook. _

"_Sir, what is Vault X?"_

The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone

Chapter Six

Vault X Part Two

"Um… excuse me for asking but Mr. Griphook, are you alright sir?" Griphook's face couldn't possibly be anymore shocked than it was already. His glasses had slipped off his long nose and fell to the floor but the goblin did not notice. Harry picked up the glasses, handed it to the goblin and asked once more,

"Mr. Griphook are you alright?" The goblin removed the shock from his face, placed the glasses back, on and replied,

"Y-yes Mr. Potter. I-I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. The entire goblin community apologizes for not recognizing you it is just that… we…I…" he stumbled to find the right words.

"It's fine Mr. Griphook. I understand why you would want to do this. I must thank you for doing this process actually."

"W-what? WHY?"

"If you hadn't have done this test with all of the other witches and wizards, my inheritance would have been long gone years before I even knew the fact that I had an inheritance. I must thank you." Harry held out his hand. Griphook's shock came back tenfold when Harry made this simple gesture. The goblin looked at the hand suspiciously. Slowly, he took out his hand and shook it with Harry's.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. Thank you. I must say that you are very kind to us for this incident."

"Why? You were only verifying that I was who I claimed to be and acting responsibly to the others who tried to impersonate myself.

"Well you see Mr. Potter, if word got out that we had messed up in the act of giving Harry Potter his inheritance, the wizarding world would diminish our trust even further. Many Witches and Wizards are racist to those who are not the same as them. The many fascinating creatures of our world are often regarded as worthless to the ones who carry wands. The Goblin community is only seen to store magical money for witches and wizards and nothing else. If we try to extend our own lives in any way, shape, or form, the magical governments across the world might declare it as an act of war as they have often done in the past. As you could easily guess, The Goblins are not particularly used to a wizard shaking hands and asking about a goblin's wellbeing."

"That's awful. How could humans think that way. The different beings of this world could all give something of their own civilization to the others. Witches and Wizards are only hurting themselves by cutting ties, treaties, and bonds with the others." Griphook's shock turned to complete confusion.

"You are a strange boy Mr. Potter. But often it is the strange ones that do the most effect in the world. I feel that you will be very effective in the future to uniting the beings of the world. I do not know how, but I do know that you will be effective. The fact that you see all beings as equals shows it. Now then, on to business. Shall we go down to your vault Mr. Potter?"

"I just have one request, call me Harry please."

"As long as you call me Griphook. Mr. Po… Harry." He smiled sheepishly and the two walked down the hall to a wooden railway. Griphook whistled and a small cart with the Gringotts symbol carved on the front drove itself forward to them. They stepped inside.

"Keep your limbs inside the cart if you wish to walk out with all of them." the goblin joked. Harry thought it was a joke. The goblin's face seemed to have a little smile as though it was thinking about all beings who did not listen. But goblins didn't seem like the joking kind. Harry felt Ardoris fly away from his shoulder quickly. Before he had time to think why, he got his answer.

The entire trip felt like an endless, mad roller coaster without a safety bar to hold onto. Except the fact that Harry had never been allowed to accompany the Dursleys on trips to amusement parks. Griphook explained how the vault system worked. The older a family was, the deeper it was and the more defenses were placed around it. The school vaults were in the hundreds. Starting at one thousand and one were the family vaults. He mentioned about how the ancient families were on the lowest levels. Harry would have to ask the elders about ancient families later.

"Vault six hundred and eighty seven." Griphook said as the cart stopped. He did not get out however. "This is the vault where your school money is placed. But be careful Harry, some people do not wish for you to have knowledge that you have more than this one vault." Before Harry could ask, the cart shot forward into the tunnels once more. The tracks were becoming steeper and older as they blasted across banks and drops. There were more forks in the track. At one point, he and Griphook went down a impossibly banked slope, barreling backwards.

Harry soon saw a glimpse of one vault at the end of a forked turn. Its door looked to be extremely heavily guarded. Harry missed the last two of the three numbers. The only one he saw was the number seven. He would have asked what was in there, but some things were better left secret in the universe. Forks pasted faster now. Caves, carts, and different tracks were blurs. Harry thought he saw a cart going upside down, but the one he was on went too fast for him to confirm it. They passed what looked like vault ninety five thousand, five hundred and twenty three. The next drop caused Harry to almost fall out of his seat. It went straight down at a ninety degree angle. They leveled off going at what Harry guessed was about a hundred fifty miles per hour. He saw that the track led straight into a craggy stone wall ahead. The cart ignored friction as it sped even faster. They were just about to crash when Harry saw a tiny little stone in front of them jump out of the way revealing a hole just big enough for them to squeeze through. They did so through complete, pitch black darkness. Harry could feel the wooden cart slow down.

It did so. They slowly rode across a giant chasm. It was just illuminated by a few torches here and there. Harry wouldn't be surprised if the it was bottomless. Lining the walls were a few giant caves. And Harry saw pairs of big yellow eyes, illuminated by the torches, glaring at him as they rode past.

"Griphook, what are those?" The goblin got out of the cart but did not face the eyes. He said,

"Oh.. Just the guards."

"Are they…"

"Dragons?" Oh yes of course! Some of the best guards I've ever seen. Shows no mercy to those that attack their masters. It is also a secret that we keep them down here so don't speak of it to anyone. Got that Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good. Now we are almost there. Mind your head in the next tunnel. There's a dragon up there who likes to set fire to anything that moves.

After that dragon breathing fire upon the cart, they came to a stop in a lonely little cave. It was just wide enough to allow them to step out the cart. In front of them, dimly glowing from two torches, was a stone door. And carved upon the rock was a simple 'X'. They stepped out. Harry could swear that he heard Godric shout, "Man! That beast ride gets better every single time!" Then he could hear the others shout, "Will you shut your mouth Godric?" He chuckled silently and followed the goblin.

"Place you hand in the middle of the 'X'. If it accepts you as its heir, it will grant you entrance. If it doesn't, let's just say you'll have a hard time going to the bathroom for the rest of your life. Yeah, we'll put it that way!" Harry gulped. He stepped forward and placed the trembling hand on the stone.

It rumbled violently. Griphook's eyes danced wildly. "Now just step through the door. I would accompany you Harry but excuse me, I enjoy my ability to use a toilet. Take this bag." He gave a small, polished, leather bag to Harry. "This is a Gringotts money bag. It can hold up to ten thousand Galleons at one time. It's free of charge as thanks for not reporting this incident. Now… I'm going to go back to the lobby. Call out my name when you wish to come back to the surface. Don't worry I'll hear you. Go on!" He bowed to Harry, hopped into the rickety, wooden cart, and shot off. Harry shook his head and took another step. His foot slid through as if the door was made of liquid. The rest of his body followed. The room wasn't a room. It was a small chamber. There was an platform of rock with seven symbols on its face. A blue orb. A red orb. A red lion. A blue eagle. A yellow badger. A green snake. And a white rock. All the symbols surrounded the middle of the pedestal in a circle. Harry automatically placed his two hands onto the center and all seven symbols glowed. An inscription glowed onto the wall behind the pedestal.

_Ye who descended from us eldest beings. _

_Hath entered thy chamber for ancestral dealings._

_Touch thy symbol of predecessor you choose._

_And enter for thy possessions are there to use._

_Merlin's orb._

_Morgana's too._

_Godric's red cat._

_Rowena's bird so blue._

_Helga's badger._

_Yellow but black_

_Salazar's serpent_

_Its green bites back._

_Family symbol, White Stone you use._

_Open the vault of the ancestor you choose._

Harry understood the meaning of the strange message. He would have to touch the symbol of the ancestor he wanted to enter their vault. He placed his palm onto the white stone. The inscription faded and the stone wall it was on rumbled like the one before it. Harry stepped around the pedestal and entered through the wall.

The inside of the Stone Family Vault was massive. Everywhere he looked there was something different. Not a single space of floor was open except for the paths. It was however thoroughly organized so he could find his way around. He followed the path into the center of the vault. On a small table was a little wooden chest. He opened it. Inside was a plain white piece of paper, not parchment, muggle paper. Underneath it was a thick, black book. Harry knew that the letter was the one he heard his mother speak about in his dreams. He opened it up carefully and began reading.

_Dear Harry, _

_If you are reading this, then it mean that I have died along with your father. I am sorry that we couldn't be there for your childhood. Hopefully you would have been raised by Sirius Black or Remus Lupin. They were the only two people we entrusted to take care of you. However, Albus Dumbledore might have placed you with my sister Petunia Dursley. If he has, then I will be with all my might, haunting that man. It was stated in your father's and my will that your were absolutely not to go to anyone with the name Dursley. If you have, do as much as you can to get away from the horrendous bastards! _

_Pardon me for my language Harry. But I did try to forget our conflicts with my sister. In response she cursed at me and slammed the door in my face. If your are living with that horrible woman, get yourself out!_

_Anyway, to the point of this letter. If you are here reading this, than that means you have had the dream I sent with you into the future. Harry, the truth is that I am not a muggle-born like some people will tell you. After I was born, a dark wizard came into power and killed anyone with powers stronger than him. To his surprise, a little girl was far more powerful than him. In response, he killed my father. My mother was gravely injured but managed to place me into a muggle family named the Evans. She used magic to make the Evans believe that I was their daughter. But I was not. Harry, my real last name is Stone. And I am descended from Godric Gryfinndor and Rowena Ravenclaw. The two in turn are two of the four children of Merlin and Morgana Le Fay. This makes you one of the two descendents of the Elders. The other is Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. But Salazar and Helga disowned their son Abrax Gaunt after he began killing Muggles in the name of his father. This is the real reason that wizard-kind think Salazar believed in blood purity. The two founders took away Abrax's true powers, refused him their sacred ritual, and left him as a weak muggle. In rage, he began the beliefs of Blood Purity. He taught this to his son and it went on and on. Lord Voldemort heard a prophecy that I'm sure the elders in our minds have told you. He went to our house and murdered James while he was giving me time to save you. I performed the ritual that Salazar refused his son which gave you your powers that I know you have experienced already at such an early age. You must perform this on at least one of your children to continue the sacred line of the magical elders. This is because you are the last true descendent of Merlin and Morgana. _

_None know that Merlin and Morgana had children. The mystery of the founders birth is a complete secret. Salazar wiped the memory from his son before banishing him so Lord Voldemort has no knowledge of this. My side of the family has kept the knowledge. You must as well to protect yourself from power seeking witches and wizards. Some believe that there is an ability to steal the powers of a being and taking it for yourself through the act of murder. If people know your heritage, you will be under danger every second of every day by multiple dark people. I know the founders have entered your mind and have begun training you as they had done for me. You must continue doing this. _

_Harry, I know how you are feeling, not knowing your parents. But I know that you will have a family one day. There will be a special girl just waiting for you and if you are your father's son, Sirius's godson, and Remus's friend's son, than I know that there will be many girls in your life. There will also be many fan girls too. Take my advice. The only girl for you, will be the one that truly knows who you are, not what you are surrounded by. And your father wanted me to tell you, "Watch out for Redheads."_

_Harry, know that I love you very much. And that James and I are watching you. We know that one day you will find Stone Manor. It is the rightful home of a descendent of Merlin and Morgana. It was their home as well. I know that you will one day have kids running around the house. And your wife will truly love you. And now, I must ell you about the other items inside this box. _

_The rings are the Stone Ring. The stone represented balance and the eye represented life. Both could not live without being anchored to the other. It is the symbol of the Stone family. My family and your family. Your father and I used these two rings in our wedding and it is my wish for you to use them in yours. If you tap them you will be transported to Stone Manor. But do not go there until you are ready, and if you are living with the Dursleys, not living with them anymore. You still have the Trace (stupid Ministry of Magic spell that can be easily fooled.) around you. There is a book under the table saying how to be rid of it(Evil grin). It will say you performed under age magic unless you are rid of the Trace. One ring is for you, and the other is for you wife. No other is allowed inside the boundaries unless you wish them to be. The pendants are used to speak with each other no matter how far away they are. One will slightly glow when the other wants to talk and only the wearer can listen to the speaker. These were created by Merlin and Morgana. I know that you will put them to good use. The next thing is an address. It leads to a wand crafter. Wand crafters are the greatest builders of wand in the world, but there are few of them left. I wish for you to do what I did when I was young. I bought a wand from the wand maker, Mr. Olivander. He's a wand maker. Then I want you to see my old friend, a wand crafter, Mr. Acraet. Show him you ring and he will know that you are my son. He will create your wand from scratch. The Olivander wand should be for school. The Acraet wand should be for "other activities." The last is a book detailing about all seven vaults inside Vault X._

_I love you and know that even if you are a Slytherin, you are my son and your parents love you no matter what. You have more power than Voldemort could ever dream by the time you defeated him for the first time like I knew you would. You are a true descendent. Tom Riddle is not. He does not even know who he really is descended from. The elders will help with anything you need. They did the same for me. And remember, __Redheads._

_Your Mother, _

_Lily Potter(née Stone)_

Harry had tears in his eyes by the time he was finished reading the letter from his mother. It was the only thing he had from his parents. His mother had said she would love him if he was even in Slytherin. A house hated by the other three. It was sad how easily truth and fact could be twisted into rumors and lies. Salazar was a kind man. He helped Harry. He showed him what was wrong with his spell work. He told him that he could improve even more. But the rest of the world thought they were right to say that he was a twisted, evil old man. That he only cared for power and himself. This along with what he had learned from Griphook about the ways people acted proved his theory about the world ten fold. It was full of people who cared for nothing but themselves. Shallow, sneaky, rude, obnoxious witches and wizards who were destroying the ancient ways that the world used to be, created by the elders. And instead, they have replaced it with a world where no one cared for another. They wouldn't help one another. The beings who were not witches and wizards had every right in the world to be disappointed and disgusted by the way the world was today. And the fact that witches and wizards thought that disgust was an attempt at war was even more horrible. It showed how the intelligence of the world has slowly decreased,. Being replace by the many horrors that now walk upon it. It was just simply, plain disgusting.

Harry reached into the box and grabbed the two rings. Both had a simple circle etched into them with an eye at the top. The same design as the stone outside on the podium. The stone represented balance and the eye represented life. Both could not live without being anchored to the other. He would have to remember that. He looked underneath the table and found a blue book called 'Tracing the Trace' and began to skim over it. He looked ludicrously at the words of the book. The Trace was a simple spell required to be placed upon a child at birth. If it was not, there would be serious trouble with the law. All he had to say was an incarnation along with a few gestures on himself to remove it. But practically the entire population of Britain did not even have a clue about this. The Ministry of Magic was horribly insane if it thought that this simple little spell could hold such a stupid law in place. And the world was messed up in the fact that it couldn't even figure out how the Trace worked. He thought in his head the incarnation, waved his hand over himself wildly like a fly, and a soft glow emitted over him. It had worked. There wasn't anything in the Trace law that said Harry had to have the Trace on him anymore. It said he needed to have the Trace placed upon him right after birth. If there was loopholes like this in all of the Ministry of Magic's laws…Harry was going to have some fun with the idiots that run the country. He walked over to the section that contained the families money. Griphook had said the Potter family vault was one of the ancient families. But Vault 'X' was the most ancient wizarding family. He gathered five thousand galleons into the money bag. It didn't even make a scratch in the mountain of gold, let alone the mountains of silver and bronze. He walked back over to the main table and saw the book detailing the Vaults info. Near the beginning was his money. His eyes bugged out. He had to be the richest wizard/muggle in the world! If he converted his money to muggle pounds, he could buy out the Queen of England easily! He would have to be smart and not blow it all, if he lived long enough to blow it all. The coins rose to the stoney ceiling which seemed to be miles above him! He couldn't possibly have all this money! This was just the family vault. There were six others that could be even bigger than the family vault! And then there was the Potter Vault to add to this. He would have to talk to Griphook about that one.

He exited the monstrous room and entered the tiny chamber. He felt the wall rumble behind him. He felt the wall, it was stone solid again. The symbols were dim once more. Harry exited the 'X' door and shouted for Griphook. He couldn't understand how the goblin was supposed to hear him but five minutes later, the cart came to a halt in front of him.

"Remember Harry," Griphook began as the young wizard climbed in. "None but those descended from the elders are permitted to enter. The last person to enter this vault was your mother, Lily. Only she and her ancestors have entered this room. We are sworn to complete secrecy so no one in the entire world has knowledge that this room exists. Only I and my predecessors know who you really are and the book I showed you prevents us from even remembering it, let alone speak of it. Once you leave, I will forget the memory which is irretrievable by others. Only when you return shall I remember. Understand?" Harry nodded.

The two shot out of the chasm.

"Griphook, who owns the Potter family vault? You said before that I can't claim the money inside it until I am of age."

"Albus Dumbledore does. Were you not informed of the Potter Vault?" He looked surprised.

"No sir. My mother placed a dream charm on me when I was a baby. That's the only reason I have knowledge of this place. I wasn't informed of anything." Griphook's stare could kill. He muttered out,

"Dumbledore…broken…Gringotts…Law….?"

"Griphook, did I do something wrong?"

"No Harry, your innocent. Dumbledore however has broken the very Gringotts Law he signed when he took the role of the guardian of the Potter Vault. Then…" His stare became murderous. "Harry, have you ever taken money out of the Potter vault?" Harry was confused.

"No sir. Why do you ask? This is my first time being here."

"Dumbledore and the Dursleys have a deal. The muggles raise you as their own, they get paid five hundred pounds a month." Harry's jaw dropped.

"Five hundred pounds! They never took me as their own! They beat me up for every thing bad that happened to them!" Griphook's stare only worsened. They reached the lobby.

"We have taken out the equivalent of five hundred pounds every month. But every now and then we have had requests claimed to have been by you to take more out. Dumbledore must have used this extra money for his own use!" Harry was beyond shock and they stepped out of the cart.

"He is stealing from me! Griphook, I want to close both accounts right now!" The goblin nodded.

"Yes, thought you'd say that. I agree. Harry I must ask you to do me a favor."

"Yes?"

"Times will come when I will have to answer about the changes in your vault. I will need the memories to lie about them. So you will have no suspicion. You must place your hand upon the book we looked at earlier and state that you wish for me to keep my memories. Agreed?" They reached the book room.

"Agreed." He walked up to the book and placed his hand upon it. "I Harry James Potter allow Griphook the goblin to retain his memories regarding all matters within Vault 'X'. A soft white glow surrounded Griphook's head.

"Thank you Harry. I shall write a letter to Dumbledore stating that he has broken Gringotts law. I will not say anything about the events of today. I shall also cancel both his and the Dursley's funding."

"Thank you Griphook."

"Your welcome Harry. I must say, you are different."

"Different? How?"

"I am not sure how. But I know your different in some strange way." He nervously held out a hand. Harry smiled and shook it.

"Good day Griphook."

"Good day Mr. Harry Potter." Harry smiled and left the room. He refreshed his glamour charms, and felt the invisible phoenix Ardoris land back onto his shoulder.

"Hey Ardoris, where have you been?"

"Just left to do some flying round the block. Usual. Rodent's didn't know what hit em." Harry laughed. Ardoris smirked. "And now, time for some shopping!" he said.

Harry groaned as he exited the bronze doors. It was him and the Alley now.

A/N: Whew! Finally finished! Vault X is really seven vaults! Harry is the only true descendent of Merlin and Morgana! Voldemort wont know what hit him! Next chapter is going to be shopping! Hooray! Harry might even meet a certain redhead I kept mentioning in Lily's letter!

Looks like Dumbledore is in trouble!

With this chapter, the 20,000 words wall is down!

Challenges

1. What will be Harry's pet? **It'll be next chapter guys! Hurry! Last chance to submit an idea for a pet for next chapter!** Here is two more hints.

Hint2-Only one person in chapter five comments has guessed correctly.

Hint 3- Book Five

2. A. How will Harry and the redhead meet.

3. Which house will Harry be in?

A. Ravenclaw

B. Slytherin

Challenge 1 Comment. - Don't worry guys. All the pets will be in the story in one way or another.

Foreshadowing: Stone Manor…

**Leave a comment.**

**All questions are welcome.**

**See you guys next chapter!**


	7. Flourish and Blotts

MIDTERMS ARE OVER! Passed them all and now I'm back! I don't have to do this insane process of testing the government wants us to do until June. Freaking Finals! I would have updated the story yesterday but I had fencing practice. Anyway, its time to get back to the story. It has been a month since this story was written. Hooray! So Harry will be shopping in Diagon Alley now. What fun adventures will commence? Griphook is the only Goblin at Gringotts who remembers who Harry's ancestors really are. He also is going to inform Dumbledore and the Dursleys that their account with Harry has been cancelled. The story has only just begun.

P.S. To Chapter Seven's Bragging Rights People

You all have given me so many great ideas on how to do this chapter that I tried to mix them all together. Hope you all like it.

**Harry's House Score **

_Ravenclaw-9_

_Slytherin-6_

_Parseltounges_-You are losing right now. Keep on voting. Win. Eat the birds. Professor Snape cannot help you in this battle. You must brew the correct potion to make me type Harry into Slytherin. Use all of your cunning, abilities, and ambition when you click on that review button!

_Bird Watchers_- Don't get cocky. The snakes are not too far behind you! Sooner or later they are going to bite! Remember what Flitwick taught you. Just perform a nice 'Swish and Flick' movement on that mouse to the review button and click with all your superior intelligent might!

Wow! I am surprised at what you guys have said in your votes. And to think the Lions and Snakes had a rivalry! Whew! But anyway, onto the important info… sadly the time ending the voting is coming closer and closer. Speakers and Watchers. Decide! Vote! Which house shall Harry James Potter be sorted into? The powers of the Sorting Hat rests inside you.

**Thanks To…**

bob

PuppyProngs

Comet Moon

Duke Brymin

Tronishere

ProfessorChris

Nightwing 509

hptrump

Thawk6

mmendoza688

Semnet001

hpgwfan628

brittlovesyou

usernames are for losers

Dramalover57

Jedi Knight 3

Octopus86' Max

bensdad

Lysen5972

shinigamigirl196

Maybe you should tell me

vaboy

floyddickey

Miz636

JAIMOL

jabarber69

**Bragging Rights Go To**

**brittlovesyou**-for-meet at…

**Usernames are for losers**-for-redhead

**lysen5952-**for-meet at…

**Maybe you should tell me-**meet at…

**Questions and Comments from Ch Six Reviews**

Bob-Thanks for the correction.

PuppyProngs-Might be one at home.

ProfessorChris-yes he will.

Semnet001-yes, he will be. Rita? Hmmm…J

brittlovesyou-read on…J

usernames are for losers-he should. It doesn't matter to me how long a review is.

Lysen5952-nice ideas. Read on.

**To celebrate one month since the beginning of the story, I have given you lucky number seven. The most magical number of all and it's my number too! Enjoy!**

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Seven**

**Flourish and Blotts**

Harry Potter climbed down the steps of the stone white building that housed the enormous goblin bank, Gringotts. He had just refreshed the wandless glamour charms he had cast inside the men's lavatory. The scar was still invisible and he made his uncontrollable hair much neater. It was only a slight change but by his standards it was astounding. Then he thought about the irony of how the wizarding world treated the "Boy who Lived". All they know about him was hat Voldemort tried to kill him. But he vanished when he cast the curse. No one knew what their savior looked like. They didn't know where he lived. Heck, they didn't even know who Harry Potter was. They didn't even know that Harry Potter was walking right past them on Diagon Alley.

Harry looked around at the many stores and shops. He decided that he would first need a trunk to carry all of his bought possessions. Darting casually past colorful robes, simmering cauldrons, and screeching owls, he entered a shop called Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Its inside was full of many things such as telescopes, hourglasses, centaur tail ropes, and what Harry was searching for, trunks. A middle aged wizard with a kind face walked out of the storeroom.

"Yes?" he looked mildly surprised that a child had entered.

"Hello sir. I'd like to see your variety of trunks please." The man looked shocked at his formal yet friendly opening.

"Of course. My boy, you do have the money to pay for these, correct? The standard price is a hundred Galleons."

"Yes sir I do have the money." He held up the bag.

"Very well. Follow me." He walked into a side room. Harry followed. On a rack were about fifty or so trunks. Each varied from size, to design, to color.

"What features would you like lad?" Harry had to look over the different trunks. He climbed up and down the ladders to gaze at the higher level ones. The man had gotten out a checklist.

"Sir, I'd think a seven compartment trunk." A scribble.

"Color preferences?"

"Black." Another scratch on the parchment.

"Compartment Rooms?"

"I'd like a Dueling Room, a Library, a Potions Lab, a Quidditch Area, a Swimming Pool, a Sitting Room, and a Storage Room please."

The man stared at him.

"Dangerous world out there."

"And the pool is for…?" Harry shrugged.

"I'm a kid. I need to relax every now and then." The man smirked at his cheek.

"Of course. Now I shall need only ten minutes to prepare the trunk." Harry sat on the couch near the front door. Ten minutes passed. The middle aged man pulled the trunk as if it was light as a feather. He handed it to Harry. It was as light as a feather, if not lighter!

"Yes, as you can tell I added a feather weight charm to it. I also added a charm that only allows you to open it and lock it. That will be One Hundred Twenty Six Galleons."

"Thank you sir." Harry said handing him the money. He shocked the man by casting Reducio and placing the shrunken trunk into his pocket. Bidding the man farewell, Harry left the store.

The Alley only got more packed as the sun soared higher into the sky. Students who were already eleven were running around, trying to buy the best things for sale. Harry shook his head and wondered what would happen on his eleventh birthday. He shook the idea from his head and dodged more flying robes until he finally entered the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts. It was a huge bookstore with many witches and wizards perusing its corridors filled of knowledge. The Elders told Harry that this store would be the most important one that he would visit since it contained a vast collection of information he would need.

He immediately headed over to the oldest looking section with the most dust on the books. Thick books most witches and wizards would find dreadfully boring by the first page. But Harry knew that this was where he would find books on Occlumency and Legilimency. Those were most important for Harry to learn since the elders told him about Dumbledore and Voldemort being naturals at the two subjects. HE would have to learn to shield against both and set up defenses in his mind. He soon found one small, but thick book about the two. It explained how to set the defenses up in his mind easily. He went around the shop picking up books that he might need in the future. Ones on Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense against the dark arts. A few on Arithmancy, Charms, Ancient Runes, and Herbology. He also made sure to get a few books on the Ministry of Magic. He would have to understand it so he could easily get through the millions of loopholes spread throughout it.

. He had shrunk all the books down so they could all fit into his pocket. He decided to get a book or two that was in the fiction section so that he could read for his own pleasure while at school. He walked down the many corridors of pages searching for it. Finally he gave up and asked the lady at the desk where the section was.

"It's in the back dear. Here I'll show you. Follow me." She led him darting past many floating books and soaring pages. The passages seemed to go on forever until finally they past a sign that said in loose, floppy writing, Fiction.

"Thank you Miss." said Harry gratefully. He did want to see how wizard authors differed from their muggle counterparts. He hadn't read many books at home (guess why) but was able to while at the school library. He couldn't check them out because the Dursleys would have destroyed them and leave the bill to him. The librarian, Ms. Dubose, was the only person he liked in school. She was a kind old woman and was the only adult in the school who didn't praise Dudley. Dudley's affections were the same, especially since she caught him putting graffiti on the library walls at the age of seven. He tried to say Harry did it but that did not convince her. Especially since she had been watching Harry reading a book for the past half hour at a desk near her. The old woman reported him but Harry was punished instead. The 'proof' was valid because the paint spelled "I did ths, sined Hary Potty." Dudley was not one of the greatest spellers in the school. His parents complained that Ms. Dubose had Dudley's "masterpiece" removed from the library. Ms. Dubose had almost resigned but Harry begged her not to leave. Harry remembered how they chatted with each other almost daily. Harry loved to create stories as a child. Being locked inside the cupboard (forbidden from seeing anything abnormal such as a cartoon) had caused him to rebel and make up stories inside his mind. He often created them from his unusual dreams he had every night. The next morning he would go to school and write down the idea. During his times in the library, Ms. Dubose often read his writings with absolute pleasure. They would chat on ends about how he created them. He remembered saying, "I don't know Ms. Dubose. I just have strange dreams." She agreed.

Harry walked past the lady and into the fictional wonderland. Books lined everywhere. The shelves had no space between them and the ceiling. He was inside a book clad cave.

He walked over to the shelf marked 'A' and started looking at the titles and authors. The Waltz of the Hippogriff-_Abalis_, Goblins, Hardworkers or Hagglers?-_Afite_, Elf Helfs-**Alots**, Time of the Time-Turner-_Azara_,…

One hour later found Harry found himself still in the same room. The books of the wizarding world were just amazing! He found himself emerged in many books, but there still wasn't that one page turner catching his attention. He had hit the M's and was on chapter four of Wando the Great_-Mercane _when something slammed into him. He fell to the floor with a hard thud. When his vision started to come back, he could make out the form of a small, crying girl…

Hundreds of miles away shrouded in the deep fogs of Scotland, a castle stood proud and mighty. It was built along the side of a high cliff and above a vast lake. It was surrounded by mountainous terrain and a thick, dark forest howling with many dangerous creatures. It was a school of magic. A group of four witches and wizards had built the castle long ago to teach the sacred art of sorcery to young pupils across the world. The school's name was Hogwarts.

The castle beamed with happiness as her halls, classrooms, and chambers were to be filled in just a few weeks. The staff had been preparing for the start of term for over a month now. All of their hard work would soon be rewarded. And up atop the third floor, behind the statue of a gargoyle, sat the office of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The insides of its walls were filled from floor to ceiling with an assortment of objects. From ragged, talking hats to ancient swords. Quills to a collection of socks. Its owner was quite the complex one hundred and fifty year old man . Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk in deep thought. Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived, was to turn the age of eleven soon. The headmaster twirled his beard as he imagined the dangers the boy would face once he came. Albus's plan would have to be executed very carefully and in complete secret. If the boy found out what his future held…'No. He must not have the knowledge of it. Only when he is old enough to be capable of holding that knowledge. The plan was to begin exactly the second his birthday comes. Hagrid will turn him to the house of the lions. He shall be easy to control since he has no knowledge of our world. He will be sorted into Gryffindor and will be under my watch.' The headmaster turned to a red bird sitting on a pedestal.

"I shall be off Fawkes. The order is running low again and needs more funding." He vanished. A second later an owl flew in from the open window. Fawkes trilled at the brown bird as it dropped an envelope onto Dumbledore's desk. Fawkes looked at the Gringotts seal printed on its front.

'Well,' he thought to himself. 'This day should be interesting.'

**A/N: Wow! The day has only begun for Harry. Too bad Albus just missed the letter. So close! Don't worry guys. He will be shocked in the next chapter. Till then do the challenges.**

**1. Slytherin or Ravenclaw as Harry's house?**

**2. Ginny's and Harry's meeting?**

**3. Dumbledore's meeting?**

**See you!**


	8. A Golden Moment

A/N: Hey guys! SuperXBrother is back with another chapter! I've decided to put some of the things down at the bottom so you guys can read the story sooner. But I know that you all will kill me if I don't place the Raven vs.. Snake votes up top. The pet is now here! For those who's idea was not used, don't worry. There might possibly be pets waiting for Harry at Stone Manor! Here is the points and enjoy the story!

**House Points**

Ravens-Twenty Four

Snakes-Eighteen

Hurry Up! The clock is ticking! The results will be revealed on Chapter Ten!

**Thanks to**

Harrlovesginny7, germanys warrior, buddygirl1004, ProfessorChris, Nightwing 509, nesciamema, Phynixfire, Jim Red Hawk, Sky Huntress, brittlovesyou, Floyd dickey, mduaben, rellenh, hptrump,

Pantherfan16, readsalot2002, octopus86 'Max, bagwoman, PhoenixWytch, Miz636, Mrdr-Mistress-Padfoot, Isashi Sanada, Talia, usernames are for losers, Thawk6, jbfritz, Bostongirl2012,

Semnet001, benperez31, crazy potter, Tronishire, Makeup Breakup

**Last time on the Lord and Lady Phoenix…**

_The headmaster turned to a red bird sitting on a pedestal._

"_I shall be off Fawkes. The order is running low again and needs more funding." He vanished. A second later an owl flew in from the open window. Fawkes trilled at the brown bird as it dropped an envelope onto Dumbledore's desk. Fawkes looked at the Gringotts seal printed on its front. _

'_Well,' he thought to himself. 'This day should be interesting.'_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix**

**Chapter Eight**

**Golden Light**

**(Diagon Alley)**

Harry stared at the sight before him as he laid on his back upon the floor. A small girl bawling her eyes out. She was tiny for her age, had a mane of flaming red hair falling to her shoulders, and was wearing second hand clothes. Harry thought she looked very cute. What really interested Harry, was those chocolate brown eyes being ruined by her tears.

"Um…hello." He began but the girl only cried harder. She wasn't even looking at him but rather the carpeted floor. She spoke out so quickly that Harry could barley understand what she was saying.

"Oh! I'm so sorry mister! I didn't mean to. I didn't…I couldn't! I…" Harry was shocked by how quickly such a small girl could blurt out words. Harry pulled himself off of the floor and replied,

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention. I should have seen you coming. Why are you crying?"

"My brothers." she gulped out. "They are the meanest bunch of jerks ever!" Her tears were filled with a raging fire when she said this.

"They can't be all that bad." Harry said, trying to make her feel better.

"You don't have a clue. Bill and Charlie are never home and never visit. Percy is a ministry loving brat. And Ron is as stupid as you can get." Harry was surprised.

"Wow! You have three other brothers?" Harry noticed that her tears began to show signs of stopping.

'Just keep talking to her.' He thought to himself. Ginny sniffed and replied,

"Six actually. Fred and George are the best out of them all. They are the only ones who care about me. Mom thinks I can't do anything by myself. Dad thinks otherwise but Mom has a big temper so he caves in real easily. Everyone but Fred and George plays the older brother card. Those two know from personal experience that I can take care of myself." Harry didn't know what she meant but Ginny started to giggle. I'm Ginny by the way, Ginny Weasley. If you call me Ginevra like my family, I will hex you." She held out her hand. Harry laughed, shook her hand, and replied "I'm Harry, Harry…Stone." It wasn't a lie. Just not the entire truth. He was the last member of the Stone family after all. Ginny looked at him strangely because of his hesitation about his last name but she didn't press on the topic.

"So Harry… how old are you?"

I'm almost eleven. Next week is my birthday." Ginny pouted.

"Darn! Everyone in my entire family gets to go to Hogwarts before me." Harry wanted to make her happy. "Well don't worry Ginny, I'll write to my friend every week while I'm at school." Harry held a frightened look when he realized what he just said. "We…we are friends…right?"

"Course we are Harry!" Ginny almost shouted. "You've really talked to me. No one who I've talked to before has wanted to know me like you. And after all, you're my best friend now and there's no changing it!" She smirked.

"Really Ginny. I'm your best friend?"

"Course you are. Your also my first real friend!"

"Your first friend? But surly you must have had one before…your ten years old, right?"

Yes I am ten. But nope. Never had a real friend before. But now you have that honor."

"Really?"

"Well… there's this girl who lives a few hills over from us. We haven't really seen each other enough times to become friends. She's a bit weird but a nice girl. Doesn't have any friends because of her strangeness."

"Maybe we can be her friends when she comes to school."

"Good idea Harry. She needs to have at least one or two friends in her lifetime. School would be really hard for her if she went through it all alone." Harry tried to hide his thoughts but Ginny seemed to have seen his face. "Harry? Something wrong?"

"No. Not at all." Harry knew that this wouldn't be the last time he heard of this conversation.

"Oh… so why are you in here?" Harry and Ginny began a long conversation about books, Turned out that Ginny loved to read just about the same as Harry. They spent almost forty five minutes discussing favorite titles and authors until a loud voice bellowed out,

"GINEVRA!" Where have you been?" Both children jumped at the proud voice. Ginny stiffened and Harry heard her mumble,

"Oh no."

A tall but thin teenager strode into the fiction section. He had bright red hair, though not as vivid as Ginny's, and freckles along his face. Harry could only guess from Ginny's short description of each member of her family that this was her brother, Percy Weasley. He looked at Harry shortly with a blank face an stated,

"Ginevra, where have you been? Mother, Father and the others are concerned about you. Roaming off like that is not how a proper lady should act. You were told to stay with mother and yet you ran off for no reason and-"

"Only because of how you and Ron were acting!" Ginny shouted. "You two were jabbing about me like I wasn't on the same planet as you. You don't even include me in your annoying conversations about me!"

"Ginevra, your family would not act this way if you would learn your place." He turned to Harry and finally spoke to him. "Excuse me for my sister behavior young man. She still has not accepted the fact that she will be a lady one day and that she needs to mature into a proper one." He said this in a flat tone. Harry was annoyed at how this 'Percy' addressed his sister. Harry decided to speak in a friendly manner though.

"Ginny was not the slightest bit acting out of terms sir." Percy's shoulders rose proudly at being called 'sir'. "She simply entered into this section of the bookshop and we had a pleasant conversation. Isn't that right Ginny?" Ginny understood what he was playing at.

"Yes, of course. We were just discussing our favorite authors. Right Harry?" Harry was about to respond when Percy's eyes widened.

"Harry? Did you just say…what is your full name?"

"My name is Harry Stone." Percy's eyes deflated in failure.

"Oh…okay…so are you going to Hogwarts this year?" Harry noticed how easily he changed the conversation.

"Yes I am."

"Any idea on what house you are going to be in?"

"Well…" Harry wondered how to reply. "I don't know. All four houses seem to have a noble history and traditions." Percy's eyes were easy to read.

"Well of course Gryffindor is the best of the four."

"Why?" Percy was shocked at his one word question.

"Why? Why of course it is the greatest. Professor Dumbledore came from the house of Gryffindor! The house has produced the greatest witches and wizards in the world. How could you question it?" Harry was liking Percy Weasley less and less.

"Well, I have read Hogwarts A History. To me it seems that Gryffindor is the house of the brave."

"Exactly!"

"But bravery is not the only trait of the four houses. Just as bravery is not always the best choice."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Percy looked utterly shocked that Harry didn't agree about Gryffindor.

"I mean bravery is a good trait. But there are four traits in Hogwarts, not just one. Bravery is the trait that shows who can stand when all others have fallen. Hufflepuff-"

"is the house of imbeciles." Percy countered.

"-is the house of loyalty which is a key in a battle. Ravenclaw is the house of the intellectual. Intellect will allow you a key advantage over an opponent by allowing you to outsmart the spells they use. The final house, Slytherin-"

"is full of dirty, foul mouth-"

"is the house of the ambitious. Ambition will show who is the one that can rise above the rest to achieve something-"

"like becoming a dark lord!" Percy shouted.

"Percy, what about the new students this year that will be sorted into Slytherin? Do you think that they will begin training in the dark arts the second the welcoming feast is over. No, they will begin just as the other first years in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw will, as nervous students. Like it or not Percy, there have been many dark wizards out of the other three houses as well. Just as there have been many light wizards come out of Slytherin. Got it?"

"Tomfoolery." Percy muttered. "Come Ginevra, we must be leaving." Harry saw Ginny's face full of awe.

Percy left as quickly as possible. Ginny was about to follow when Harry shook his head and said,

"Watch this Ginny." He waved his hand and a light shot from it into Percy just as he was about to go into another corridor.

"Wh-what was that?" Ginny busted out, alarmed. Harry shrugged.

"Just a small memory charm. I made him forget that Harry Stone told him all of that. He only remembers that a stranger told him it. He also remembers going with you to the bookstore since you weren't technically alone."

"How can you do that? You don't even have a wand yet!"

"I read books." he stated simply.

"Your different Harry. I don't know what kind of different, but different."

"Sometimes different is good."

"I guess it is."

"See you later?"

"Duh! You're my best friend aren't you?" Laughing, she turned to walk out of the fiction section.

But then, something happened.

Albus Dumbledore was being squeezed in every direction. He was in the middle of Apparition. He saw space rip through time and time rip through space until his feet hit the lobby of Gringotts. He walked over to Griphook, ignoring the audience he attracted with his entrance, and steeped up to the counter.

"I would like to make a withdrawal on account of Harry Potter." He said just as simply as he always did. Griphook didn't need to for he usually came around once or twice a month. However, now he remembered the truth that Albus held no knowledge of. Denying the urge to yell at the headmaster, he replied,

"Very well Professor. However, we require you to come into a private room to discuss a matter of importance." Albus replied,

"Is it necessary? I am in a bit of a hurry."

"Yes it is sir."

"What is it about?"

"There are too many people about sir. It must be in a private room."

"Lead on." They walked through the many corridors until the Goblin said simply,

"In here please." Albus did so and sat in one of the two chairs. On the table next to them was a familiar piece of parchment he had almost forgotten about. The goblin made a gesture to the paper. "Do you know what this is sir?

"The document granting me the honor of being in charge of the Potter vault until Harry is of age, correct?"

"Yes sir it is. Now can you read me paragraph nine, section 'b' out loud? Albus rolled his eyes and did so.

_Paragraph Nine_

_Section B_

_Any person, creature, or being that wishes to be granted the role of guardian to a one Potter Vault must follow these quotes exactly to the point._

_These three rules are documented and quoted by a Lily and James Potter._

_1. "Whoever controls the vault must inform the vault's inheritor by the day of their tenth birthday."_

_2. "The guardian must teach the inheritor about any and all responsibilities involved with becoming head of a vault."_

_3. "The controller must leave the vault completely untouched until the inheritor is of the age of seventeen otherwise known as coming of age. The only exception is if the inheritor is the only able descendent and is the one withdrawing the money._

_Any breakings of the rules above shall result in complete termination of any and all roles involving the Potter Vault. _

"Do you understand what the three rules Lily and James entrusted to us mean?"

"Yes I do." Albus had no idea what this had to do with him. The goblin sighed.

"Have you followed all three rules?"

"Yes I have."

"Have you ever broken even one small part of the three rules here?"

"No I have not."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, now can we go to the vault.?"

"Albus, read this last sheet of parchment for me will you?"

Potter Family Vault

Amount of Money Since Lily and James Potter died on 31 October, 1981

85,974,585,894 Galleons 483,549,944 Sickles

574,332,029 Knuts

Amount as of Today

44,489,485,121 Galleons

293,794,078 Sickles

374,927,659 Knuts

"Albus, care to explain why so much money has disappeared?" Albus was so shocked that he couldn't speak. "You signed a contract stating that you wouldn't take any money out under any circumstance." Albus thought of a cover up story.

"Why young Harry asked me to take out that money." He said simply.

"The contract states he had to be with you when the money has been taken out. Besides, what could a ten year old boy buy with so much money?"

"I do not know. But it was not I who did so.

"Albus, we sent one of our humans to check on Harry after his tenth birthday. When asked about a inheritance Harry thought the man was mocking him. We have not had a reliable security system in Gringotts because the ministry and the Wizengamot denied any kind of law until recently. Because of that new law we immediately began reviewing the activities involved with the Potter Vault." Albus was sweating now.

"Listen it is a matter of importance that Harry's funds be watched." He tried to take control of the situation.

"Watched but not stolen! You knew that adding security would ruin your funds. You were strongly against any type of system. This is the only stealing Gringotts has ever experienced and we shall not have any more of it."

"Bu-but sir…it is for Harry's wellbeing and the greater good of-"

"The reasons why you acted as you have for the past ten years are not important. As of this moment, all bonds between Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and the Potter Vault are severed."

"No…please…I must asked you to reconsider-"

"Albus, you have already trashed your grand reputation. I highly ask you to reconsider and not damage it any further. The only vault you are in charge of is the Dumbledore vault. Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?" The white faced Dumbledore sighed.

"I-I understand."

"Good. I ask you not to try anything because we are now constantly increasing security to make sure events such as this will not occur again. You will pay back all funds you have taken from the Potter Vault by this time next year, understand?

"Yes " replied Albus.

"Good, now since you have broken your contract, your punishment must be made." The goblin wrote down something on the contract which lit up. A second later Albus Dumbledore was standing wearing only a pair hot pink boxers. A floating camera papered out of nowhere and took a picture. Before Albus could do anything, it vanished into the cart tunnels. "Well, I believe that should be punishment enough for the both of us. You for your actions and me for not addressing this sooner. Good day Albus."

"Good day." Albus replied shocked at the thought of that picture. If it got out into the world…

He transfigured a new pair of robes and walked out of the room with what dignity he had left. Griphook nodded to the empty seat and then heard a strange buzzing noise. He searched around the room and finally found the source. He spoke,

"Aha! Thought you'd be here to listen in on our conversation. Listen…I have a deal for you…."

And then it happened.

Ginny turned around and tripped. Harry rushed over to her. He managed to catch her but gravity was not finished yet. The two children came crashing down onto the carpeted floor. Ginny was atop of Harry.

"Ouch! Oh…I am such a klutz. Sorry about that Harry. Thanks for cushioning the fall." She got off of him.

"It's okay Ginny. Accidents happ…" He looked at his right hand. He spot where his ring was supposed to be felt bare. He felt it. The rings belonging to his parents were gone!

"Harry? What's wrong?"

"The rings belonging to my parents, they're gone!"

"Don't worry Harry, they can't of run off. They are probably around in this room." They began searching for them. After five minutes of searching, Ginny called out, "Harry, I think I found them!" Harry zoomed over to her. There, in her hands were the two jeweled rings.

"Thank you Ginny, thank you. You don't know how much these mean to me. They belonged to my mom and dad." Harry took one out of her hand.

"No problem Harry. Um…can I try this one on?"

"Sure…but why?"

"Well…my family isn't he wealthiest and well…" she looked at the ring. Harry understood.

"I understand, go on then." She put on the other ring.

Then as if by pure magic, a strange aura glowed around the both of them. A golden aura. Both children's eyes became bright gold and then, the colors returned to normal. Both felt incredibly tired.

"Gi..nny…what was…that?" He breathed out.

"I…I don't know. "

"Oh well…we'll find out later." Ginny gave Harry the ring back and they walked up to the checkout counter. "I'd like to buy these books please." Harry took out the books which he had returned to normal size. He paid the price in Galleons and said, "Lets go Ginny." They left the shop.

Albus Dumbledore was not having a good day. His guardianship over the Potter vault was gone, just gone. He wore a hooded robe so none on the Alley would recognize him. Gringotts was nowhere near the top of his favorite places list. He was also in very deep thoughts about the day's events.

'How? How did they find out? I had made sure those wards would prevent anyone from the magical world from spying on Harry. There must have been a crack or something. The Dursleys wont like the money not coming either…' His train of thought was interrupted when he bumped into a young boy. The first thing Albus noticed when he looked at this ten year old was his magic. No underage wizard could possibly have this kind of power. Heck, he doubted there was any adult wizards containing the amount of magic the boy did. He had black hair and blue-green eyes. Albus gazed at the child's forehead. It was scar less. That meant Harry still did not know about his vault and Albus's plans were slowly working. They weren't stopped, but the money had helped speed up the Order's progress. This boy couldn't be Harry Potter. The girl next to him had to be a Weasley. She had both the red hair and the freckles.

"Sorry sir." the boy apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Albus smiled. At least some of today's children still had manners.

"The fault resides in me as well. My attention was focused upon which pair of socks I would be purchasing at Madame Malkin's." He smiled at the child's confusion.

"Right…well lets go." He and the Weasley girl turned to walk away.

"Wait! Excuse me child but what is your name?"

"Stone." He and the red haired girl walked away. Albus was in confusion. 'Stone? I've never heard of the Stones. For this powerful boy to be a member of a family whose name eluded my vast mind? Very mysterious. I will have to look into this.' He walked into a side alley and Disapparited away.

Harry and Ginny ended walking into her family. Before the mother could scream one word Harry emitted the same white light that he performed on Percy. Surprisingly, the family was okay with Harry and Ginny shopping together alone after that.

Harry and Ginny both went to almost every shop whether it to shop or gaze. Harry only bought the basics the elders told him about. Harry said he already had a wand but it was at home. He treated her to ice cream and a candy called Bertie Botts's Every Flavor Beans. They were every flavor possible from chocolate and peppermint to spinach and tripe. Ginny knocked a curiously green colored one out of his hand. Her face was deadly serious when she told him not to eat that colored one. When passing by Olivanders

They finally stopped at the Magical Menagerie. It was an extremely cramped shop full of , animals, cages, and dung. The shop owner was an extremely old man who seemed to hate children. He snapped at them, barking to pick a pet quickly.

"Hurry up, hurry up. Haven't got al day."

"We just got here!" Ginny replied at the retreating form of the old man. They gazed at the numerous animals on sale. There were cats, bats, poisonous fire snails, jeweled turtles, Puffskiens, rats, owls, and rabbits. None of them caught Harry's attention. They noticed a door rattling. Harry told Ginny to keep watch while he opened the door to see what was inside. The shopkeeper was busy with a forgetful lady who kept changing her pet choice up at the front desk. Harry tiptoed over to the door, held out his hand, and muttered, "Alohamora." The lock silently, clicked open. Harry opened the door and almost screamed. Inside the rattling cage was a small animal. It looked to be only a baby. Its leathery skin was full of cuts and soaked in blood. Harry knew it was going to die soon if help didn't come. He cast the unlocking charm on the tiny cage and held the tiny horse creature in his arms. The creature was as cold as ice. It neighed softly. The horse nuzzled its small, bat-like wings into Harry's chest, absorbing his body heat rapidly. He ran to Ginny, who almost shrieked too. They had a silent agreement. Locking the cage and door, they snuck out the back. They ran to the end of the Alley through the back roads. Stopping at the end of Diagon Harry took off Dudley's coat and wrapped the skeleton horse inside it.

Harry told Ginny to be silent, and closed his eyes.

'Please Elders. Please heal this creature. It needs to grow and live. I beg of you.' The elders listened because all Harry saw then, was a golden light going from his body, into the baby. He blacked out for a minute and the next thing he knew, a wet tongue was licking his face. He opened his eyes and saw the baby horse sitting on him, making his face very clean. Ginny was next to him, laughing.

"Ginny?"

"Hi Harry, I see you've made a new friend." Harry looked down at the cost of another lick and said,

"Guess I did."

"By the way Harry, what was that golden thing? It was a lot like in the bookstore."

"I don't know." Harry replied truthfully. "I'll have to look into it. So what kind of creature is this?"

"I'm not surprised. They are really rare. This Harry, is a Thestral. They can only be seen by people who have witnessed death."

"Who have you seen die? Oh! I'm sorry Ginny. If you don't want to-"

"It's okay Harry. When I was little I found an old bunny. I kept him a secret from my family for about a month. Then one day, I was watching him on my bed. He went to sleep and never woke up."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Everyone dies one day. Just have to make the best of it."

"Your right Ginny." They saw the sun was beginning to set.

"Well, guess this is it."

"We'll see each other soon. Your parents have to take you to see your brothers off right?"

"So that means we get to see each other off!" The kids hugged each other and Ginny made the Thestral do a loop the loop when she kissed it. They walked back to the Weasleys and Harry sent out the white light one more time. The family vanished in the green blaze of a fireplace.

Harry walked back to the flying horse.

"Guess we'll take him back to Harry." cried a voice that made Harry jump.

"Ardoris! I'd forgotten you were there."

"I saw everything that happened there Harry, everything."

"Oh great." Harry replied sarcastically.

"Relax, I wont tell the elders. They're in your head so they already know."

"Great." He said again as they fire flashed away.

**(Harry's Dream)**

Harry was once again in the golden field of his mind. He asked the elders about the golden lights from the day but Salazar said,

"Once you build up your mind's defenses. Only then will we explain but you will find the majority on your own. This is extremely important info and we can't risk anyone finding a smidge about this.

Harry sat in the middle of the two foot high stone circle he had managed to build. Helga told him he needed to remember to balance his mind so the stones had no cracks at all. He soon added another eight inches when he heard a soft 'POP' in the distance. He opened his eyes and saw a structure that wasn't there a minute ago. It was a stone white arch. And on the other side he saw…no it couldn't be. He stood up and ran to the arch. It looked as though it was like the entrance of Vault X. He placed his hand on the image and felt solid rock. It rumbled as before and he then stepped through. It was the exact same as the first clearing, without the stone circle. He ran to the middle of this new clearing. There was a figure standing there, gazing at the field. He put a hand on the person's shoulder and the figure turned around. Brown eyes met green ones.

"Harry?"

"Ginny?" Then they both said at the same time,

"What are you doing in my dream?"

A/N: Wow. Harry's pet is a Thestral. Harry and Ginny might have a soul bond and are sharing dreams. What will happen next? You'll have to wait and do the challenges!

**Bragging Rights Go To…**

Tronishire-for-pet

Semnet001-for-Rita? and dreams.

brittlovesyou-for-meet the redhead

usernames are for losers-for-Ginny and Albus shocked

Jedi Knight 3-for-pet

Lysen5972-for-meeting and Percy

Maybe you should tell me-for-petBuddygirl1004-for-meeting

Brittlovesyou-for-Albus pissed.

Mduaben-for-Gringotts not telling Albus

Hptrump-for-bookstore

Bigmommak-for-weasleys

PhoenixWytch-for-bump in bookstore

Thawk6-for-Ginny and Harry

**Challenges**

**1. Ravenclaw or Slytherin? (Chapter Ten)**

**2. What will happen with Hagrid and the Dursleys? (Next Chapter)**

**3. Will Hermione be bad?**

**4. What will the name of the Thestral be? (Next Chapter)**

**See you next time!**


	9. Déjà vu?

A/N: Hi! Just got the latest chapter up. Before you guys ask, here's the score.

Ravens-29

Snakes-25

I've bumped the sorting to chapter eleven. Sorry! Chapter ten will be very important to the overall story however! Here's the chapter!

_Previously on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_He opened his eyes and saw a structure that wasn't there a minute ago. It was a stone white arch. And on the other side he saw…no it couldn't be. He stood up and ran to the arch. It looked as though it was like the entrance of Vault X. He placed his hand on the image and felt solid rock. It rumbled as before and he then stepped through. It was the exact same as the first clearing, without the stone circle. He ran to the middle of this new clearing. There was a figure standing there, gazing at the field. He put a hand on the person's shoulder and the figure turned around. Brown eyes met green ones._

_"Harry?"_

_"Ginny?" Then they both said at the same time,_

_"What are you doing in my dream?"_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Nine **

**Déjà vu?**

To say Harry was shocked was an understatement. Today had been hectic for the young ten year old boy. He had managed to somehow avoid Albus Dumbledore finding out who he was, he had realized that he was the heir to seven different vaults, each belonging to a famous elder of magic. Just one single vault could last him twenty lifetimes, give or take a few . Add six others and…wow. Then he had met his first friend, Ginny Weasley, who then shared some weird golden light with him that the elders refused to speak of. Now he was sharing dreams with the same girl with whom he had experienced those very same lights?

'I guess pigs can fly' he thought to himself. He would have to remember to cast a _Wingardium Leviosa _charm on his whale of a cousin first thing tomorrow morning.

"H-Harry…why are…what are you doing in my dream?" Ginny broke the silence.

"Um…Ginny, it's my dream." Harry replied. The elders had a lot of explaining to do. They knew what was going on. But what was it? Those lights…they appeared after Ginny…

"But I'm asleep right now! I just laid down. There's no way I'm imagining things." She shouted out many things more to herself than to Harry. He waited patiently for her rant to cease. After five dream minutes, (not sure how time contrasts from dreams to real world ) she finally she looked at her surroundings. "Harry, where are we?"

"I don't know to be honest Ginny. I was over by that archway and-" his explanation halted as Ginny ran over to the arch of white stone.

"What is this thing?"

"I don't know. As I was saying, I was in a place similar to this and I walked over to this arch. I put a hand on it. The next thing I know, I'm here with you standing in the middle of the fields. Does that make any sense?"

"Not really. It might have been a portkey…no this is a dream…but…maybe if I…"

"Ginny? What are you…" The redhead walked over to the arch and placed a hand upon it, grazing the warmth that the stone gave off. It rumbled.

"Strange…I wonder if it-" She fell through the arch as if it were made of liquid.

"Ginny!" Harry ran into the arch but earned a nice little bump on his nose. He was sure that he heard a crack. Bellowing out a curse, he place one hand on the stone while the other tried to stop the bleeding. It rumbled familiarly and the rock became liquid once more. Harry landed on his bottom back in the stone circle field.

"Need some help?" giggled a laughing redhead, offering a hand.

"Gee thanks." he grunted as she helped him up.

"Nice bump there."

"Don't worry. The Helga will fix it. She's a master when it comes to her healing spells."

"Who's Helga?" asked the curious girl.

"Why I am dear. Harry, why don't I fix up that cut of yours while you introduce us to your little friend." replied the joyful voice of the Hufflepuff House Mistress. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and led her over to the four waiting wizards and the two golden phoenixes. All six of them were smirking.

"WHAT! YOU FOUR ARE THE FOUNDERS OF HOGWARTS!" was the first thing Ginny Weasley said after the four introduced themselves. She turned to the two ancient sorcerers. "AND YOU TWO ARE THE MERLIN AND MORGANA LE FAY! I THOUGHT YOU TWO HATED EACHOTHER! TELL ME THE TRUTH. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" she shrieked the last sentence out.

"Uh…Ginny. They are who they say they are and-"

"Harry," said the voice of Merlin. "Perhaps we should tell her the lost story of our time." Harry nodded and everyone sat down on couches that instantly appeared out of nowhere. "Ginny you see, times were difficult if you were up to the arts of witchcraft and wizardry. The muggles were both scared and awed at our powers and abilities. They could not perform the same things we could and wished for us to teach them. Magic is not a gift. It is born with a person. It cannot be learned. It can be brought out of a wizard's magical core. Do you understand?"

Ginny said no and Harry was a bit confused. "Sir, then what is the purpose of magic schools like Hogwarts?" Morgana spoke.

"Excellent question Harry. Every witch and wizard is born of the same magic. It does not matter if the child is ranked pure, half, or muggleborn. The magic still exists all at the same amount. But only to those who can learn the art. Merlin and I were the only two magical ones for miles. We grew up in an ancient town that respected us. However when the townsfolk learned of our abilities, they wished to learn it as well. We checked for any magical energy but there was none to be found, therefore we told with the deepest regret that we could not teach them. Within seconds, we were chased out of our hometown and fled into a cave in a nearby mountain. We continued to watch over the townsfolk as they spoke of the evils magic brought. But we did not feel anger towards them. We pitied the fact that we could not help teach them our ways. This rift that was created helped lead the two worlds, magic and muggle, into modern times. The muggle world has developed its technology whereas the magical world has developed our many spells, potions, and abilities. It is a pity that our world wants nothing to do with the muggle one. There are so many things we could learn from them."

"Like…?" Harry and Ginny pressed on.

"Well, I'm sure you both know of the shield charm, Protego, correct?" They nodded. "It can deflect most minor hexes, jinxes, and curses place upon oneself. But there are also muggle weapons that can easily go through the shields." The children had confused looks on their faces. "_Protego_ can only block magical spells, not any threat like most witches and wizards choose to foolishly believe. A muggle shotgun could easily kill a wizard in duel as long as they don't rely on muggle methods like bullet proof vests. Back to our story, we were banned from the village, never to walk within the walls again. Instead of mourning and taking revenge like most would, Merlin and I traveled to strengthen our powers. We found ourselves in the kingdom of Camelot. I know that both of you know the story. Most of it was correct, although some changes we made like me betraying everyone and such. We found ourselves soon as a happily married couple living in secret from the world. We grew lonely from this separation and in turn, had Godric, Rowena, Salazar, and Helga here."

Ginny's eyes bugged out at the thought of it.

"The four great founders are the children of Merlin and Morgana Le Fay!"

"Yes dear, we kept the family relations a secret in order to draw less attention. The founders grew up and built the school of Hogwarts and found themselves becoming family and having children as well. Helga and Salazar had one son. Rowena and Godric also had one son. The world once more was ignorant. The founders taught at the school and retired eventually. They believed that it was time to perform a ritual that we bestowed upon them. Godric and Rowena granted the power of us to their son."

The elders' faces darkened.

"Helga and Salazar were prepaing the ritual but found their son killing muggles in the name of his father. Disgusted, Salazar disowned his son, changed his surname to Gaunt, and took away his powers producing the first squib. Rumors afterward spread to convince people that Salazar hated muggles and muggleborns. They believed it."

Salazar was shaking in rage from the memories of his son. He spoke bitterly.

"Yes, then my son went and began the blood status beliefs. He married only purebloods, believing that he needed to continue my noble work. His last living descendant's name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. More commonly known as Lord Voldemort." He snorted at the name while Ginny gasped. Godric spoke.

"Rowena's and my son did not believe in any of the pure blood mania spreading. He met a pretty young witch and they hit it off. Soon the ritual was performed on their baby. The process continued to the last descendent." He stopped and looked at Harry. It was time to tell one more truth. He placed his hand into hers and looked into her beautiful eyes. Chocolate met emerald.

"Ginny, I haven't been exactly truthful to you. The second to last descendent was a woman named Lily Stone." Ginny placed her free hand over her mouth in shock. "A dark wizard attacked her family, killing the father. Lily's mother had enough health to hoodwink a muggle family into raising her. She became Lily Evans. The Hogwarts letter came and off she went. Meanwhile, a boy named James Potter was going to Hogwarts too. After they graduated they wed and had a baby. Ginny do you know who I really am?"

Her eyes were wider than ever before.

"Does that…I mean…are you?"

"Yes Ginny. I am Harry James Potter.

She fainted.

Ginny Weasly had fainted in their shared dream. Unfortunately, that had caused it to cease and for Harry to wake up in his cupboard. He groaned. 'Stupid! Now she'll hate me for lying to her. I'll have to talk to her again tonight.' He petted the sleeping Thestral, which he had named Morse, which meant death.

He waited until the white faced Petunia opened the cupboard. Petunia had not uttered a single word since he returned. He could only imagine what the elders did to make her shut her trap for the first time ever. She flinched as she watched him walk past to the kitchen. It was a bit dirty, very strange for neat freak Petunia.

He made the breakfast as usual. Petunia's color returned to her face as she watched her nephew make the breakfast. 'It was all a dream. Nothing strange going on.' she thought and then hurled, "Hurry up! Duddy will be up soon. I don't want his bacon poisoned or anything else you might be thinking. Got it?" She left the kitchen after his slight nod. Duddy and Dad waddled into the kitchen and began devouring the mountain of food. Harry heard Godric say to him, "Sorry Harry. Those two didn't have much between the ears to s=mess with. Hard enough getting through their thick skulls." Harry silently chuckled. The food was halfway gone within the minute and the mail came through the slot in the door.

"Get the mail Dudley."

"Make Ha-wee ge-tit." came from the chipmunk cheeks of Dudley.

"Get the mail freak.

"Make Dudley get it." He managed to dodge the swinging frying pan Petunia swung and walked to the mail.

"Bill, bill, charity, bill…" he muttered as he went through the envelopes. The last one caught his attention. Written in swishing, emerald ink were the words,

Mr. Harry Potter

The cupboard under the stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

This was the letter Harry was waiting for. The one the elders said every wizard would get. The Dursleys would steal it if they saw it. He knew now that they were trying to kick the magic out of him all these years. Ironically, beating him up caused his magical core to strengthen in all aspects in order to heal himself. Harry stuffed the letter in his shirt, gave the Dursleys the mail, and entered his cupboard listening to Vernon cursing about having to pay bills.

"Harry." said the invisible Ardoris. "don't open it. If we don't open it then someone will come and see how these people treat you. Harry agreed and soon began to slumber hoping Ginny would let him explain.

Harry woke once more into the stone circle. After adding another foot to it, he sprinted to the arch, and opened it. Ginny was sitting in the same spot as before. He walked quietly over to her.

"I know it's you Harry." she said coolly when he was five feet from her.

"Ginny, I-I'm so sorry for lying to you. I just-" his bad explanation was cut short by a red haired missile launching to him in a bone crushing hug.

"I know why you did it Harry." she said making him even skinnier than he already was. "I understand." His face was turning blue. She released him and said, "Come on now. I want to talk to your really old grandpa." A shocked Harry followed her through the arch. On the other side stood the elders. Merlin's arms were crossed. Ginny was playing the innocent girl routine. Merlin said, "Old grandpa huh? Harry. She's a real keeper."

And that joke was the beginning of Harry and Ginny's training. The plan was for the two to study during the day and to dream practice at night. The week raced past and landed on Harry's birthday. He woke to a shouting match outside his door. He heard Petunia scream and his cupboard door shot open, blinding him in light.

Standing in front of him was a tall, black haired woman. She was dressed in strange clothes. Emerald cloaks. She had a look of shock on her face. Harry knew this was a witch.

"Hello Harry." she spoke in a stern but concerned voice. "Lets get you out of there." He did as told and saw his relatives backed up to the wall, fear plastered across their faces. Harry remembered Ardoris and the elders telling him and Ginny to play innocent children to the wizarding world.

"Excuse me," he began in a nervous voice. "Wh-who are you?"

She smiled a small smile. "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the deputy headmistress at a school called Hogwarts. I have already found out that these…people have not informed you of anything. Harry, you are a wizard."

"Me? But…there must be a-a mistake! There's no such thing as magic! Yes my boy, there is. Tell me, have you ever done anything…strange?" He pretended to ponder.

"But then…that time I…then…Dudley…because I'm a wizard?" Minerva had expected that. Usually the average untrained wizard could change the color of their teacher's hair.

"My boy…we must go now or else we shall never get to our destination." She turned to the Dursleys. "Remember what I told you Dursleys. Anything I hear and what just happened here will be increased tenfold each time." Vernon mumbled something like, "not be going…crackpot old fool…magic tricks. McGonagall glared at them, took Harry by the hand, and disappeared.

Harry felt like he was being squished in all directions. Then air filled his starving lungs and the witch asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah…what was that?"

"Apparation. You did it quite successfully for a first timer. Most vomit the first ten or so."

"Can't imagine why. By the way, what did you do to the Dursleys?"

"Oh…little of this and that…here it is."

The two walked into a shady looking bar the muggles did not seem to notice. The sign said the Leaky Cauldron.

"Harry, I'm leaving you with a friend named Hagrid. He'll help you get your things and such. Here is your ticket, she handed him a black strip that said

**Hogwarts Express**

**Platform Nine and Three Quarters**

"Nine and Three Quarters?" Harry asked.

"Don't know why. The entrance is halfway between platform nine and ten. Guess Platform Nine and One Half just doesn't have the same ring to it. Here's Hagrid." A giant with wild black hair and eyes towered over them both. His appearance was threatening but Harry could tell he was friendly.

"'ello Minerva. An this mus be Harry. Good to see ya. Got ya out of at ruckage I did. If I waited longer, ye might at not made it."

"Thanks Hagrid." Harry wasn't sure why, but he like the half giant. He was always friendly to him. The professor left and Hagrid tapped the bricks in order. "Three up two across." Hagrid mumbled. "Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley!" He said warmly to Harry.

Little did he or anyone else but Ginny Weasley know, Harry had been in the alley a week ago. Heck, even the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore didn't recognize him. The two strode off to Gringotts where Harry _met _the goblin in charge of his vault. Hagrid missed the look Griphook and Harry gave each other as they got into the carts. He got all of his books, quills, and such. They entered into Madam Milkins and were the only customers there. Madam Milkin said she'd just finished with a blond haired boy and his rude father. Once fitted, they exited. There must have been rumors that the boy who lived was shopping for supplies. Harry had to give them credit, they were able to guess what year he would be old enough for Hogwarts. Maybe the media wasn't as stupid as he once thought. Hagrid ducked into a side alley every time this one blond reporter came along carrying a twitching quill. Harry noticed that Hagrid kept saying good things about Gryffindor and Professor Dumbleodre. Nothing about the other houses. It was pretty obvious Dumbledore wanted him to be watched at all times. He bought him a snowy owl that Harry called Hedwig.

The last stop was Olivander's. Harry wondered how the wands in three hundred eighty two B.C. were made if technology was slow in the wizarding world. Pushing the thought aside, he followed Hagrid inside.

It was in one word, chaos. Two hours, a hundred and seventeen wands later, Mr. Olivander spoke. "I wonder…" He gave Harry a Holly and Phoenix Feather. Harry felt power surge through his body, but it wasn't the power he was used to. It made him feel weakened. He needed to visit the wandcrafter who was friends with Lily. He would need to, because he read in the ministry book he bought that all wandmaker wands had a trace charm placed upon them. Yet another loophole added to the millions of ones found already. Hagrid brought him back to number four Privet Drive and said that he needed to be at Kings Cross on the first of September.

Saying goodbye, Harry went straight to his cupboard, waiting for sleep to come so they could train again.

He found her meditating in her field. He said, "We need to talk."

**AN:/ **Wow! Done with this chappie. Fear not. The Dursleys will be punished but it is too early to kick them out yet! ;) Your ideas might just appear when the time comes. _**They shall suffer! **_. Ch 10 is King Cross and something else. Ch. 11 is the train and Sorting. This is the 2nd to last chance to enter a vote foe Ravenclaw or Slytherin. The clock is slowing down!

**Bragging Rights**

Tindual-harry acts normal

Semnet-name

**Challenges**

1. Ravens or snakes. (Chapter 11)

2. What events should happen…

a. On train

b. In sorting.

3. How much of a prat should Ron be?

**See you next time!**


	10. The Secret of the Wand

_**Hi everyone. It has been a month and a half since I wrote the first chapter of this story and put it online. I have to say, you guys have sent some brutal votes about which house Harry should be in! There have been sixty one for just chapter nine! I want to see them get even more brutal! This is your final**___**chance to vote for the house! **

On the other hand, allow me to explain why the founders are siblings and were married. Witches and Wizards were hunted brutally so searching for another magical person was difficult. Other magical families existed but were not immune to things like the Black Death and such. Remember that the magical world's technology is much slower than muggles and this was back around the dark ages. Not too much innovation going on. (**Spoiler Alert**) Plus, I thought the family story would help along with the Harry-Voldemort plot. Don't forget, the founders being related means the dark lord and boy who lived are as well.

For the sorting, I am equal to all the houses. But I don't want to do Gryffindor cause that's how it is in the books. Hufflepuff doesn't really fit for Harry now since he's both wise and cunning in this story so that's why there's no Lions or Badgers in the votes.

**House Points**

Ravenclaw-57 Slytherin-60

**You guys might count all the votes(good luck;) and think that my math is off. It isn't cause a bunch of my friends have read my story and told me their votes. Most of them wanted Ravenclaw. Sorry snakes! So please don't send comments saying my math is wrong. Keep up the brutal votes!**

I don't own Harry Potter.

_**Previously**_

_Hagrid brought him back to number four Privet Drive and said that he needed to be at Kings Cross on the first of September._

_Saying goodbye, Harry went straight to his cupboard, waiting for sleep to come so they could train again._

_He found Ginny meditating in her field. He said, "We need to talk."_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Ten**

**The Secrets of the Wand**

"Talk about what Harry?" she asked, breaking her meditation.

"Ginny, that these dreams, why are they happening?" He asked almost desperately.

"Are you saying that you don't like that we share dreams together?" He voice dropped into sadness.

"No! Ginny, I love how we are best friends and can share these dreams. I just want to know why they are happening. Please believe me! You're my first friend ever! Please don't leave!" He begged out the last part.

"It's okay Harry. I believe you. It's just the way you were saying it…" Her voice trailed off.

"Ginny, listen to me. You are my best friend. I want to keep it that way, but I also want to know why we are connected like this. Okay?" His face was full of concern.

"Okay." She replied.

"Ginny, tomorrow I am going to go to see a friend of my mothers. He is a wandcrafter and-"

"A WANDCRAFTER?"

"Easy Ginny! Easy, I'm standing right next to you."

"Sorry. But a wandcrafter? I thought they had did off."

"Huh?"

"Well back in the olden days, witches and wizards had wands just like us. But there were two creators of wands, Wandmakers and the rare wandcrafters. Wandmakers like Olivander sell wands compatible with a person's magic. Wandcrafters however are the topnotch experts on making perfect wands that match a person's magical core. The magical core is-"

"The source of all the magic inside a witch or wizard." Harry finished for her. She nodded.

"Harry you have to visit this wandcrafter. You wont find any others. They were hunted by dark wizards so the common people couldn't find the best wand for them."

"Yeah, I was thinking about going to him also. There is another loophole in the Ministry's numerous laws that state all wandmaker wands must have the trace charm placed upon them."

"They must think there aren't any more wandcrafters." grinned Ginny.

"They don't think, they know." Harry grinned back. "You want to come with me?"

"Sure. I'm up for a little ministry law breaking!" giggled Ginny. Just then the founders appeared and Godric spoke.

"Okay let me cast a delayed distraction charm on you. You just have to make contact with everyone in your family and the spell will transfer onto them. They'll be so busy that they won't notice a thing. Just touch them again and the spell will be lifted."

"Got it." She and Harry grinned at their plan.

"Yep, that's why they're going into my house. Always up for facing danger. The little devils." Rowena glared at her husband.

"No dear, they are wise to go and get those wands. They will be in my house." Salazar groaned.

"Please little miss birdy. They're cunning enough to sneak around the stupid government. My house will welcome them!" Helga sighed.

" They are loyal to each other so my house will have open arms. The three argued as the children and the birds watched.

"Um…are they always doing this?" asked Ginny.

"Always? That word isn't even close to these toddlers. Just wait." said a second phoenix.

"I don't think I've seen you before. Who are you?" questioned Ginny.

"My name is Soleil. I am the mate of Ardoris." The male phoenix next to her blushed.

"Do you have to say _mate_?" He whined.

"Yes cause I know you don't like it." She smirked.

"What did you mean by just wait?" asked Ginny.

"Should been in about three-two-one." she turned her head and so did Harry and Ginny. There, right in front of them, was two kissing couples. They seemed to be stuck together by lip. Seeing the look on Harry and Ginny's face, they two phoenixes trilled in laughter.

Harry cast the charm onto Ginny and a dim white hue appeared in her eyes. They hugged each other goodbye, not noticing their eyes twinkling gold again. The let go and the eyes returned to normal. The familiar sense came and the world transformed into the beds they were sleeping upon.

(The Next Day)

"Okay, the Dursleys have the distraction charm on them. Come on Morse." The little Thestral was healed completely. Harry was not surprised how quickly his healing powers worked considering the fact he'd been using them since the day he was brought to number four. He pulled out the slip of paper that his mother left him to find her friend. It read in his mother's curly handwriting,

Oswald Acraet may be found at his cottage in the Forest of Dean.

"Morse, can you drop me off at the borrow?" The skeleton horse neighed softly and within half an hour, he found himself at the most lopsided, leaning house in the world. He saw a red head girl in her room and threw a pebble at the window. It thudded slightly and she saw him. A minute later she walked out the door and said,

"My family loves the idea of me breaking ministry laws. Lets go!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards Ardoris. She saw Morse. "Not to be rude but doesn't he need to be bigger before we can ride him?" Harry laughed.

"No its just that he follows me everywhere."

"Why?"

"He just does." And with that, the flashed away in a burst of fire.

One fiery flare of heat later they found themselves inside a darkened, heavily wooded area. The air seemed to stand deathly still. The canopy blackened the sunlight.

"H-harry…where is the house?" Ginny asked scared.

"Somewhere near here Ginny. It's under a few charms but I'll be able to figure them out." And so he did. Five minutes later the cottage was revealed. Harry stepped up to the brass knocker shaped like a owl. The door slowly opened and standing in front of them was a short, old man. He wore black robes with blue trims. His face could have been a ghost for it was so white.

"Y-yes," he spoke in a strong yet shaky voice. "Who are you?"

"Um… hello Mr. Aercraet. My name Harry and this is Ginny and we-"

"Oh…good for you…now run along…little children shouldn't be in the dark forests. Goodbye."

He reached for the door but his arm fell when the boy in front of him took a small object out of his jeans pocket. Inside his hand was a small ring.

"B-b-but…how did you…? Who was the previous owner of this ring boy?" His voice was serious.

"Lily Stone." color seemed to rush into the man's face and he looked ten years younger.

"Okay, come inside…quickly!" They did as ordered.

The house seemed to be just a simple muggle cottage with a wizard do-dad every here and there.

"So…you were friends with my mother?" The man's face brightened yet fell. Touchy subject.

"Yes. She helped save my life."

"What happened?" Ginny asked. Oswald broke down to tears.

"I'm sorry, it's too painful." Ginny and Harry rushed to comfort the man. After a few minutes of grief, he could speak again. "I'm sorry. Lily helped me when no one else chose to. She saved me but I couldn't save her and James when…" His voice quivered.

"I'm sorry that we had too bring that up sir." said Harry.

"It's alright lad. I can see so much of Lily and James inside of you. You look just like James you know. Except you have your mother's eyes." He chuckled. "I know you'll be hearing about that a lot."

"Mr. Aercraet-" Ginny began.

"Please call me Oswald. Mr. makes me feel older than I already am."

"How old sir?" Harry questioned.

"Oh…hundred and seventy give or take a few years." He laughed at the children's expressions.

"But…but that means that your older than Professor Dumbledore!"

"Sure am." He grinned.

"Oswald…we would like you to create our wands." Ginny stated clearly. He looked at them intensely and said one word.

"Why?" Harry spoke up.

"Because sir, the wizarding world is in one word, chaos. The ideas of blood purity have up heaved the ways set forth by our ancient ancestors. They stated that in the magical world, all were to be equal no matter status, wealth, or blood. The law of the world was to be equal to all. The world of today is the exact opposite and I am sure that our ancestors would be completely disappointed that we have gotten to where we are today." Oswald was silent. After a minute he grinned.

"Spoken just like a true sorcerer. Now that you have proven yourself, I will create the greatest wands the world has ever seen! Follow me." He walked over to a lone bookcase. Harry and Ginny followed. The shelf was filled with the strangest assortment of books. Some were thick and dusty while others were tiny and hidden. Somehow a few were stuffed in diagonally and should have been ripped and destroyed but they looked like they were bought just five minutes ago. Oswald reached to the highest shelf and took out pulled out a thick brown book. He placed it on the table and reached up again. A small black journal was hidden by its giant brown friend. He placed the huge book right back to where it started and the bookcase shook. It sank into the floor, only to reveal a small, dark corridor.

"Sir, how-" Ginny said.

"Not now! Hurry!" He yelled and ran into the passage. Harry and Ginny followed suit. They heard the shelf snap back into place behind them. What emerged from the darkness was incredible. Hundreds beyond hundreds of strange materials lay on shelves scattered here and there. Cardboard, platinum, and sunflower petals were just three grains of sand along the ocean floor.

"Sorry about yelling. Got to make sure this place is top secret. Ministry and the dark lord would both love to get their hands on me. I am the last wandcrafter after all. Now then, lets get started."

The process was completely different from Mr. Olivander. Instead of trying hundreds of boxed wands out, Oswald brought them to a table decorated by an feast of strange objects that were nothing alike.

"Sir what are we doing?" Ginny asked.

"We are seeing which object is most compatible with your core. Every magical core works at its greatest potential if they are connected with the right material. Course, some work best without it."

"What do you mean Oswald?" Harry asked.

"Tell me lad. Which came first, magic or wands?" This shocked Harry and Ginny.

"Magic!" They cried together.

"Yes. Magic came first. Practically all people in the world today have a wand. Only few know that what is known as wandless magic is actually the original magic used from your own core. I personally believe that practicing both will only strengthen your core. Do you understand?"

"Yes." They said together.

"Good. Now pick up each object and tell me which feels best with your core." The children did as asked. Harry felt each one. Snake skin, redwood, plastic, none felt right. Ginny was having the same troubles. "Strange." Oswald mumbled. "Could those two be compatible with…" His voice trailed off "Merlin's beard! This could be why…yes it could. Both of you, over here! Quickly!" They followed and came to a steel door with a security pad. He pressed a long ten second code and the door swung open.

On a shelf were beautiful jewels. Gold, silver, crystal, amber, among many others. "Pick each of these jewels and metals and tell me which feels best. Harry and Ginny went through them one by one. Hands came to a small silver colored metal. When their hands touched it, power raged from their cores. They collapsed.

"…ak…p…Har…ease…Harr…wake up!" Harry opened his eyes to Ginny's.

"What happened?" He groaned as Ginny helped him up.

"Quite them power you two have. I wonder if…no can't say…might be though!" Oswald argued with himself.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing!" Oswald said quickly. "So you two have found one part of your wands!" He picked two rods that looked like the silvery sort of metal they saw earlier. "This is a very rare metal known as Platinum. While you were passed out I created your wands out of the it, twelve inches each. Now we just need to find your wand's core.

"Oswald, aren't these metals going to be our cores?"

"Oh no dear. That is another secret that has been lost. Wands don't have to be made out of just trees and magical cores. Like I said, everything in the world has a connection to something else. In wand terms this means anything can be used to make wands. You just need to find out which objects are most compatible with you. Now then, your wand's cores-" He was interrupted by a trill. Ardoris, Morse, and most surprising, Soleil, flew into the room.

"Wh-what?" Oswald stuttered.

"Soleil!" Ginny cried. "How did you…I mean…"

"Last night your meditation increased your magic to the point that I could be brought into the world like Ardoris."

"That's great Soleil!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes. I wanted to see my bonded one get her wand.

"Bonded one?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. I am now bonded to you like Ardoris is to Harry.

"Cool!" The redhead yelled in her mind.

"Now you might want to speak to Mr. Aercraet. He looks like he is about to wet himself." They turned back to Oswald who took a deep breath.

"You two are bonded to Phoenixes and a Thestral?" They nodded.

"Morse the Thestral is still a baby so he can't talk yet. But yes, we are bonded to them."

"Merlin's beard! No one has ever had two familiars before."

"Familiars?" Harry asked.

"Creatures you're bonded to." Ginny explained.

"Yes now, if you two are bonded to these animals then they should supply the cores." He put the rods on a desk. The three creatures looked at each other and nodded. They jumped to the table where the two Platinum wands lied. Morse lifted his tail to Harry and Ginny. Oswald's eyes threatened to burst out of their sockets.

"But…but the phoenixes aren't they…" They phoenixes sat with their tail feathers down. "Al-alright then. Harry, Ginny, pick a tail hair from Morse. Pick wisely! It will be the hair that connects with your core. They did as asked and soon each had a strand of Thestral hair in their hands. "Good. Now place them next to the wands. They did as asked and Oswald raised his own wand to use a spell when something happened.

Ardoris and Soleil both took to the air. They circled around the wands and hairs in a low glide. They trilled together and a bright golden light erupted. One single tear coursed down each golden face. The two tears seemed to have caught on fire but they didn't burn to a crisp. They circled together faster and faster like their creators and descended towards the wands. They became a golden ring of warmth. The ring touched the thestral hairs and seemed to coat them in a liquid flame. The ring jumped into the flaming hairs. The two hairs connected into the platinum wands and the gold lights ceased. The wands sat their like they hadn't been touched.

"What was that?" Harry and Ginny asked Oswald.

"I-I-I don't believe it."

"Oswald…please tell us what just happened."

"Your thestral hairs, they have been combined with another core. No wand has ever had two cores before…"

"And?" They pressed on.

"There has only been one wand to ever use a thestral hair before. And that wand hasn't been seen for centuries. To think that your wands both use the same material. Platinum, Thestral hair and a third core."

"Is that what the flames from Ardoris and Soleil were?" Ginny asked impatiently.

"Yes. That magical energy is close to the rarest core you can find in the world. It isn't even a core it's more of an energy. That energy we witness being created was known as Fire Tears."

"What are Fire Tears?" Ginny asked.

"A extremely rare substance that few know about. Even fewer know what they actually are. I'm sorry that I can't tell you more. All I know is that you two will probably become the most powerful people in the world. Those three substances are extremely rare by themselves. To put them together is almost unthinkable. Do not lose those wands. The result could be apocalyptic."

"We understand." Harry said. They all walked back through the corridors and found the cottage once more.

"I hope that you two will find happiness. I foresee a difficult future for you and there will be more than one enemy to defeat. Just remember to not see with your eyes but rather with your core and soul."

"Thank you Oswald...for everything." Ginny looked close to tears.

"Yes thanks." Harry added.

"It was my pleasure children. You're welcome here anytime. Ginny, keep him safe. Harry…you are your parent's son."

They walked half a mile and disappeared in flames. Oswald looked at the spot where they were a second ago.

"Those two are going to do just fine." He closed the door behind him.

**(August Twenty Fifth 1991)**

Harry was in his golden field. Once again he woke inside the wall. He noticed that it was getting much easier to lay them stones and it was about fifty feet high now. The walls were five feet thick and the roof was hard as steel. It was good enough to keep a powerful wizard out of his mind and the elders said that by the time he got to Hogwarts, he could keep out Dumbledore.

He built another ten feet and then walked over to Ginny's tower where it stood just ten feet shorter but five feet thicker than his own. If he was right, she wasn't going for a princess castle look. Ginny was definitely a tom-boy. He knocked on the door.

"Ginny, it's me. The door opened and he started to climb the stairs up to the tower. They were going to make their soon-to-be castles have furniture and such once they were completely impenetrable. He made it to the top floor and saw Ginny meditating.

"Hey." Ginny's eyes shot open and she tackled him in a hug. "Whoa! Where's the fire Ginny?"

"Harry! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"What?"

"I'm going with you to school!"

"That's great! How did it happen?"

"Well Errol, our old owl, came in with a letter addressed to me. It said that the school apologizes for not sending me my letter sooner. I supposedly have so much 'talent' that I need to go to Hogwarts a year early!"

"Awesome Ginny! How did your family take it?"

"Mum threw a fit but felt guilty after Dad talked to her. Percy disapproves of everything so the twins love it. They're up to something, I know that. Ron was the worst and was moaning about it all day long. We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

We can go together to get your supplies." Ginny's face fell.

"Oh…Harry…the letter said that I shouldn't use any magic around me until I can 'control it'. We're having some people from the ministry escort us so my magic can be 'watched'. Things will come up if your seen with me."

"Oh." Harry's face fell.

"Come on Harry! We're going to school together. Isn't a day apart worth being able to go to school together. If I was going regularly, we would have different classes and would have less time together."

"Yeah…your right. Sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now come on! Let's train our cores again.

**(September First 1991)**

"Well boy," his uncle boasted gleefully as they arrived at King's Cross. "There's your stop. Platform nine on the left. Platform ten on the right. But there doesn't seem to be anything in the middle. Guess they haven't built it yet. See you next summer!" He got into his car and the Dursleys laughed as Harry walked towards platforms nine and ten. The elders and Ginny both told him how to get to the train…unlike some people like Hagrid who was kind but he was loyal to Dumbledore. His train of thought was interrupted by a woman's voice.

"…packed with Muggles of course. Now what was the platform number again?"

"Nine and three quarters!" Piped the small girl.

Harry watched as the mother said again louder.

"What was the platform?"

"Nine and three quarters!" Ginny said again.

Harry laughed and walked right past the mother, threw a grin at Ginny which she returned, and walked through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. 'Why don't they call it nine and one half. Then again, wizards aren't the most logical ones out there. He came out the other side and saw the scarlet Hogwarts Express.

"It's about time." piped a voice behind him. He grabbed Ginny into a hug and they gazed at the train.

"Yes it is Ginny. Yes it is."

**A/N: **Finally! We are aboard the train and headed to Hogwarts. All passengers please present their passports with their house name on it. Remember only Raven and Snake passes are valid. While we are traveling, please entertain yourself with our activities below. Thank you and enjoy your time on the Waiting Express.

**Thanks To…**

Frost, Pantherfan16, Amy900911, dstyler640401, rtsretire, cperry33, brittlovesyou, PuppyProngs, Thawk6, Nightwing 509, bagwoman, zarkan, whyeveramihere, Miz636, ProfessorChris, ShortChick, Comet Moon, Octopus86 'Max, Buddygirl1004, Hplover, Harry rules, Slytherin is awesome, Snake, House of Snakes rule, Math wiz, Lammyself CJ, Jedi Knight 3, 2lazy2login, Stone, hpgwfan628, Hp is cool, Phoenix Wytch, _, mwinter1, Snakes, timmm, reader, ProngsandI, Wii lover, Grimm, harrlovesginny7, MissMillie, Makeup Breakup, Jim Red Hawk, Lady Morgana,

Lord Marcus, Slytherins Heir, Dumbledore is evil, Bubbles the giant squid, Padfootlover, Voldemorts little girl, Slytherin desu, Emerald eyes, Reader, The green lioness, Silver Serpent, lysen 5972, the lion parse mouth, Good girl parselmouth, 34, The loyal serpent

**Bragging Rights**

Dead1a-ch8-start early

Phoenix Wytch-ch9-start early

Mwinter1-ch9-wand made soon

**Challenges**

1. Ravens or Snake?

2. How should Harry meet with

a. Hermione**/**Neville? (they will be together like the book)

b. Ron?

c. Draco?

d. N. Tonks? (She will be younger in this story and friends with Harry)

3. How many minutes should the sorting take?

**Extra Point**

**An extra point to the house who correctly guesses why I chose the name Oswald the most.**

**Hint: cartoons**

**Enjoy your ride on the Waiting Express. We will make a stop at NewChapterVille before we continue to Hogwarts. We hope you understood our message. See you at NewChapterVille!**


	11. Sorting

A/N: The time has come…the time has come. The train has arrived at NewChapterVille. Now we are headed full speed to Hogwarts. The votes have been counted and the great battle of bird and snake has ended. 113 votes have been counted for Chapter Ten. This has resulted in a total of 159 reviews of Fanfiction in this fight spanning five chapters. Reviews, emails, and friends have been used for this first voting session of the Lord and Lady Phoenix Series. There will be more enforcing rules placed on account of this first ballot. Thanks to X for giving me tips to enforcing these new rules. I thank all who have participated. But the time has come. The following three results are as followed. These do not state the winner.

**Winner of Fanfiction Reviews**

**Slytherin**

**Winner of Email Reviews**

**Ravenclaw**

**Oswald War Winner**

**Ravenclaw**

Only one house, Ravenclaw or Slytherin, can win. The score was almost tied at the end. Please note that the winning House shall receive Harry James Potter. But fear not to the losing house. I have made it so the losing house will become more involved within the plot. The reason I chose the name Oswald is at the bottom. And now, for the moment you have all been waiting for.

**The winner of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin fight is…**

**At the end of this chapter**

**Yes, you have to read on. **

**No I will not tell you.**

**When will these bold print comments end?**

**Soon**

**I give to you**

**The Eleventh Chapter**

**The **

**Lord and Lady**

**Phoenix**

**The Stone**

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Choice**

Harry stared dreamily at the billowing smoke coming from the Hogwarts Express. The scarlet train looked warm and inviting. Its many open doors beckoned the two children to rush inside. He turned to looked at Ginny.

"I've got to go and stay with my family. Remember, they don't know that you're even my friend."

"Right." He looked at the barrier. "Your mum is going to have a fit if she notices you're not their. Bet you she's still trying to get me to ask her how to get onto the platform." Ginny let out a giggle.

"Harry, you should not make bets that are one sided." She gave him a squeeze on the shoulder. "Could you spare giving a nervous little first year the honor of sitting in the same compartment as the great Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived?" He nudged her to the brick wall.

"Last compartment on the train." She walked back through the bricks. Harry turned back to the train and for the first time he saw how many people were on nine and three quarters. There were warty toads croaking and hopping, cats of every color meowing, owls of all sizes hooting. Then there were the witches and wizards themselves. Even if the barrier separated the platform from King's Cross, Harry wondered why sound did not travel through the barrier like magical folk. Then again, science was alien to the magical world. And how they expected muggleborns to know to walk into a wall to get to school eluded his grasp to.

He dragged his trunk over to the last car of the long train. Few people were at the end so this made Harry feel better. He waved his hand and cast a feather weight charm to his trunk and the cage of the snowy owl, Hedwig. Easily, he lifted his luggage onto the train. He looked at the clock, ten fifty eight. No signs of the redheaded Ginny or her family, the Weasleys.

The clock ticked faster. Harry clambered onto the train. Faster. He was in the hallway. Faster. Ginny had a minute. Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick. Harry slid silently into the last compartment and looked desperately out the window. Forty five seconds. He saw a sea of red rush through the bricks. Thirty seconds. The pistons of the train hissed and let out steam. The train was shrouded in steam and smoke. Twenty seconds. Little Ginny was dragged by her father, darting ahead of the boys and into the mass of the people.. He ran straight for the first car that he could see.

There was ten seconds on the clock. The car that held Harry's compartment. Ten…nine…eight…Ginny's trunk was tossed onto the train…seven…Harry ran to the door Ginny was going to…six…he watched her four older brothers jump into one of the train's middle cars…five…four…Ginny ran with all her might…three…she bent her knees as far as possible…two…the doors began to slowly shut…one…she jumped.

The doors were a foot from being closed. Harry put himself between the door and the wall and reached his hand out to Ginny, currently midair. He clamped her small hand and heaved. The door was practically shut. He gave one last pull with all his might.

The two children landed into the deserted, end car of the Hogwarts Express. Rumbles were felt underneath them. They made it.

Ten minutes later found Harry and Ginny talking away happily about their life at Hogwarts.

"So…any idea on the house you'd like to be in?" Ginny asked.

"Personally Ginny, I don't even like the idea of the house system."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like I said with your brother Percy. Little first years, some of which have no clue about the wizarding world, will be sorted tonight. The ones that will go to Slytherin will be labeled b the other three houses as dark just because they're cunning. Ravenclaw firsties will be seen as little smart mouths cause they are smart. Hufflepuff will be seen as soft due to their loyalty and balanced nature. Gryffindor will be seen as reckless due to their bravery. The second that a student is marked into a house the other houses will mock them for their traits. If the school was just a student body like Dumstrang or Beauxbatons, than the students would become friends with each other and we wouldn't have a house rivalry."

"Wow…Harry. I think you're right."

"Well…lets hope we are in the same house together. That way we can help each other out.

"Okay. Here's to getting to the same house!" They gave each other a hug. 'He really cares about me.'

Ginny thought, embracing the hug.

"Of course I do." Harry said out of the blue. She let go of him.

"Course you do what?" Ginny was confused. Harry looked at her strangely.

"I care about you. You said that I care about you. I confirmed it." Ginny was really confused.

"Harry…I didn't say that. I-"

"I just heard you say it. Just now."

"No Harry I didn't say it. I thought it."

"Wh-what? Y-you thought it? I heard your thoughts?"

"I'll think of something else." 'Harry, this is weird.' "Did you hear anything?" He sighed.

"Nope. I wonder why I just read your mind all of a sudden like that." She intertwined her hand with his.

"I don't know Harry. We'll figure it out."

"Yeah." Harry loved the feeling of her hand in his. 'Her hand fits perfectly into mine.' He thought.

"I agree." He jumped, letting go of Ginny.

"W-what? He stumbled. He could feel his face reddening.

"I agreed to you saying that my hand fit perfectly into yours."

"G-ginny I didn't say that either. I thought it too!"

"Why is this happening?" She said. "Why can't we figure this our?"

"Let's see. You hugged me and I read your thoughts. You let go and I couldn't anymore. Then you held my hand and read my thoughts. Maybe it has to do with touching or something?"

"I don't know. We should look it up at-" Ginny went silent. Footsteps were heard heading straight for their compartment. The door slipped open and a red haired boy strode in nervously.

"D-do you mind? Everywhere else is full." He snorted silently. The Hogwarts Express had enough compartments to fit triple the population of Hogwarts. Yet this boy heads straight into their car, when all the surrounding compartments were empty?

"Really? I had thought that all the compartments in this car were empty." The boy's eyes bugged out in surprise. He said,

"Well, I wanted to have someone to talk to." He barged into the compartment and sat down. He didn't even notice Ginny. "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley." He said confidently, puffing out his chest, and holding his hand out.

'So this was Ginny's git of a brother who moaned into the night cause his sister was talented. "Excuse me, did we say you were invited to come in Ron?" Harry asked coldly. Ron shuddered at his tone. But then he showed confusion.

"We? " He finally noticed an irate Ginny sitting across from him. "GINNY!" He yelled in half surprise-half anger. "Why are you in here talking with Harry Potter?" Ginny swallowed her anger and replied calmly.

"Well, Ronald," Ron scowled at the mention of his real name. "Harry here helped me onto the train just as it was pulling out of the station. It seems some brothers of mine didn't even notice me. I would have missed it had Harry not helped me." Ron turned to Harry.

"Well…thanks I guess. But Harry, you don't have to sit with her. You wouldn't believe how annoying she is. I do wonder how she can possibly be related to me…" He kept boasting on about how Ginny was the most horrible sister in the world and about how great he was. Harry noted that he also boasted about the almighty Dumbledore. "Seriously Harry, you shouldn't hang around with her." He shuddered at the thought. "So come on Ginny. Leave us be." Harry didn't need to read her mind to tell what Ginny was thinking. Harry wrapped an arm around her.

"Ron, Ginny is my friend. If she wants to sit with me, she's more than welcome to." Ginny smiled.

"Fine! You can stay but don't interrupt us Ginny." Once again, the tales of himself and Weasley greatness spun its way into the tale. "…and my family would be more than willing to let you stay at our house next summer. So which house do you think you'll be in?" Harry was ignoring him for most of his speech and was talking with Ginny through their minds. Luckily he heard the question.

"Well…I think all four houses would be great to join." Ron's face showed confused.

"But obviously you think Gryffindor is the best!" Harry shook his head. "Wh-what? But your father and his father were in the lion house! Even with your muggle mother tainting you with her genes, how can't you? " He demanded.

"Well how many houses are there at Hogwarts?" Harry grunted.

"Four. Everyone knows that." He said like he was a genius.

"Tell me their names and what their traits are." Ron's confusion deepened but he replied,

"Gryffindor is the house of the brave. Ravenclaw is the house of know it alls. Hufflepuff is the house for dunderheads. And Slytherin is the house of dark arts."

"And that's where you're wrong Ron. Each house is valued for its traits and history. Both good and bad things come when sorted into each house."

"Except Gryffindor!" Harry ignored him.

"Let's see. Ravenclaw is intelligent. That gives them an advantage in class and battle. But it also causes them to be slightly antisocial and cocky. Hufflepuff is loyal. This wins wars but it also causes the belief that they are weak. Slytherin is ambitious. They are-"

"ambitious to learn dark arts!" Yelled Ron.

"They are willing to try more than others and can easily outwit another. The drawback is that people believe them to be evil."

"Which they are!"

"Gryffindor is the house of the brave. This shows true courage during battle but-"

"They don't have a bad side!"

"But they do Ron. Their courage causes them to charge recklessly into any type of battle without any sort of plan. So you see Ron, all four houses have their prides and their faults. Why should one choose only one without even glimpsing at the other three?"

"Oh I get it!" Harry's face must have shown confusion. "You're keeping up your image! Your trying to fake being equal to all houses. Great idea! It's good for publicity. This'll make even those DunderPuffs get a clue!" Harry stared. He wondered if Ron's head was empty or not. Right now, he was betting on the former. "Us famous people need to have the crowd love us after all!" Harry stared, trying not to crack up.

"You're famous?" Ginny let out a giggle.

"Course I am. I'm the best friend of the Boy Who Lived! How can I not be? It's not like I'm some little fan girl begging for the slightest bit of your attention like the one sitting next to you." He blinked and the next thing he saw was Harry's Holly and Phoenix wand. A wand aimed conveniently between Ron's eyes.

"Get out." Harry muttered.

"What? Why? Ron asked stupidly.

"If you had anything in between your ears, you'd grasp it completely." Ginny said. Ron's face matched his hair.

"I'm not leaving my best friend with you, you little-" His voice went silent. Harry had cast a Silencing Charm onto Ron.

"Now then, if you'd shut it for a minute Ronald." Harry said coolly. "Ginny is my best friend, not you." Ron's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Why would you think that insulting Ginny and saying my mother tainted me with muggle genes would make you my best friend?" The youngest male Weasley was silent, even without the charm he would have been. "Exactly. Now get out!" He pushed a slumped Ron out the door, shut it, and returned to Ginny.

'Wow Harry, I'd hate to get on your bad side.' He chuckled while he read her mind and held her tiny hand.

'You never could. You're my best friend after all, not like that idiot.'

'Thank you Harry.'

'For what?'

'For being you.'

**(Two Hours Later)**

The open fields and plains had melted into old, untouched forests. The sun's light only just made it through the tree's canopy. Footsteps were once again heard outside the compartment.

"Who could it be this time?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Gee Harry I don't know. It couldn't happen to be Ronny-poo, could it?" This was about the third or fourth time Ron had tried to sneak into the room. The door slid open and much to their surprise, it wasn't Ron. This boy was not pretending to be nervous. He looked so full of shyness that Harry immediately felt bad for him. He looked like he didn't have any friends. One look at Ginny showed she was thinking along similar terms. Behind him was a girl with a mane a the bushiest hair in the world. She said in a bossy tone,

"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville here has lost it." Harry looked at him closely. He was slightly overweight, had dark blond hair, and a rounded face. He and the girl both had large buck teeth.

"He keeps getting away from me." He said sadly, as if he'd said it a million times before.

"No, I'm sorry." Ginny said.

"You'll find it." Harry said. Neville seemed to be comforted by their words. The two turned to leave.

'Harry,' Ginny thought quickly, grasping his hand. 'Try a summoning charm.'

'Okay.' "Hey! Wait a minute!" The two stopped and turned back to him. "I think there is a way to find Trevor, hold out your hand Neville." The nervous boy did as asked. Harry raised his holly wand high and said clearly, "Accio Neville's Toad!" A rush of wind blurred from the wands tip and ten seconds later, a squirming frog flew into the room. It landed on Harry's hand which turned over so the toad fell into Neville's waiting hand.

"Trevor!" He cried out. He and the girl held shocked faces. "Oh…thank you. I guess I'll see you around school then…" he turned to leave.

"If you want to, you two can sit down with us. That's okay right Ginny?"

"Sure!" She said brightly. "The more the merrier!"

"Oh…," The girl began. "We don't want to intrude-"

"Your not intruding. Sit down." Harry waved his arm, gesturing the two to sit down.

"Thank you." The girl said. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Neville Longbottom." The boy said.

"Ginny Weasley."

"Harry Potter." All four had shook hands at the same time but half of them gasped in shock.

"You-your Harry Potter?" Neville gasped out.

"Yes, I am."

Oh I'm sorry for not recognizing you I-"

"It's okay Neville. I don't really like the attention anyways."

"I've read all about you." Hermione said.

"Those books you've read aren't accurate Hermione."

"What? Why not?" she demanded.

"I've never given an interview to a reporter. Heck, I never even knew I was famous until a month ago." That was when someone had told him. Someone that wasn't stuck inside his head. So it wasn't lying, just not the whole truth.

"You-you never knew?" Neville asked.

"Yup. All I know is that I'm famous for something I probably didn't even do."

"But the books said that you defeated _He Who Must Not Be Named_." Hermione said. Harry intertwined his hand with Ginny's.

"Guys, I was just over a year old. How could a one year old defeat the Dark Lord?"

"Well I guess that yo-" Hermione started.

"Hermione, even Merlin and Morgana Le Fay couldn't cast spells at the age of one. So how could I have?"

"I-I guess you couldn't have." Neville replied shaking.

"Right you are Neville. I think that it was someone else. Problem is I don't know who." It was better to lie at the moment. "Could have been Mum, Dad, anyone really. The only witnesses were a one year old and a psychotic idiot."

"True Harry. Very resourceful." Hermione said as she contemplated the facts.

"Yeah but the wizarding world won't think that way. They'll follow exactly what Albus Dumbledore says."

"You don't like him?"

"Let's just say some people are better not to have power." Harry said carefully.

**(One hour later)**

The group had just gotten a bunch of sweets curtsy of Harry.

"You didn't have to buy-" Ginny began.

"I wanted too. Nothing more, nothing less." He opened his first chocolate frog box. The frog ended up jumping out the window and into the middle of nowhere. He took that as a bad sign and pushed the unopened card away. A second one was opened and Harry managed to catch the croaking chocolate. Licking his lips after eating the delicious treat, Harry opened the card inside. He almost laughed at the irony.

**Merlin**

_Medieval, dates unknown. Most famous wizard of all time. Sometimes known as the Prince of Enchanters. Part of the Court of King Arthur._

'Why can they never get it straight?' Merlin complained inside Harry's head. I never wore anything similar to those robes. And that ridiculous hat…' Harry chuckled.

'Harry.' Ginny thought. 'Look at mine.' He looked at Ginny's card.

**Morgana Le Fay**

_Medieval, dates unknown. Most famous witch of all time. The half-sister of King Arthur._

'I see exactly what you mean dear.' Morgana sighed in Harry's head, as she saw her card's clothes.

"So…Harry," Hermione began. Harry had been avoiding her questions but he knew she'd never give up till she found her answer. "Exactly how did you manage to learn a fourth year spell?"

"Well Hermione, when I was at Flourish and Blotts, I found more than I bargained for." He could feel even Ginny's magical core blush. "I found quite a few more books than is required for a first year. I read as much as I could during my remaining time at home."

"But that was only about two weeks! How could you have possibly-" Her questions was cut short by the door sliding open yet again. A blond haired boy he'd seen briefly at Madame Malkin's strode in. On his sides were two troll…er…students.

"Word on the train is that Harry Potter is on the train." He announced to the cart's inhabitants.

"Quite possible he is. Then again, quite possible that he is not." Harry said easily. He wasn't going to give this boy any satisfaction. The blond boy with the long nose nodded at Harry. "You must be him then. I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle. We come from good stock. I see you've made friends with a squib, a Weaslette, and a mud blood. Pathetic. You could do so much better. You'll soon find some families are better than others. I can help you there." He offered a hand. Harry looked at the hand.

"Well Draco, I appreciate that another student is willing to help me out. Particularly since I was not raised in a wizarding family like you. However, I feel that a person should make and fix their mistakes by themselves. I do wish for you to become a friend, but that is your choice on how to take it. I will make decisions by what I believe in."

"Yo-you've made a mistake Potter. It's your choice to welcome trash like this. But when you come your senses, the House of Malfoy will welcome you."

"The same goes to you Draco." The blond boy scowled and took out his wand. Harry was quicker and a single thought erupted into his mind, _Bactos Mucos_. A flash of yellowish-green light erupted from the wand's tip. Suddenly the insides of Draco's nose came flying out into sickly yellow bats, They attacked and scratched his face out. He ran off, followed by his trolls. Ginny grinned while Neville and Hermione were in shock.

Two more people ran into the compartment. They looked like taller, mischievous versions of Ron. The one on the right spoke,

"Hello there Gin-Gin. So did you cast that little curse Malfoy's way?" She grinned.

"Nope, that was all Harry. The twins looked at each other and said together,

"Harry? Ginny? Can we talk to you outside?" They followed them to an empty compartment, save for a teenaged girl. She already had her robes on. Her hair was a bright bubblegum pink set in a short, spiky way. Her eyes were a bright blue. She looked at them and said,

"Wotcher."

"Harry, Ginny, this charming lady is Ny-" The bubble-gum haired girl's wand was aimed right at an area where all males don't want wands aimed at.

"Finish that sentence, and you'll never go to the bathroom again." She growled.

"Okay! Okay! Oi! Put that thing away! Um…right…this is Tonks. She's a third year Gryffindor friend of ours. Tonks, this is our sister Gin-Gin, and her friend Harry Potter."

"Wow! Really?" Harry nodded. The twin on the left said,

"Right then, Harry I think you should see this. He handed Harry a piece of paper.

_**Hogwarts Detention Records**_

_Most detentions in a day._

_James Potter_

_Most Detentions in a week._

_James Potter_

_Most Detentions in a month._

_James Potter_

_Most detentions in a quarter._

_James Potter_

_Most detentions in a semester._

_James Potter_

_Most detentions in a school year._

_James Potter._

_Most detentions in seven school years._

_James Potter_

The list went on and on. "So you see Harry," The right twin said. "You're the son of an experienced trouble maker. Your perfect Marauder material.

"What's a Marau-whatever you call it?"

"They were the best magical pranksters in the History of the world. There was Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. They pulled the greatest pranks ever. They have inspired us to do what we do Harry. They are our heroes, our inspiration. And now, we have a request for you."

"And that is?"

"To join our legion. A new generation of Marauders. We have been thinking about it and Tonks agreed at the end of term. We wanted to have Ginny in it to. Now you show up doing the Bat Bogey Curse, a specialty of Ginny. Your perfect! Plus we have wanted to learn how to do it-

"Forget it!" She said sternly. "They're my secrets."

"Anyway, Harry, Ginny, do you want to join us. It'll be me, Fred, Tonks, and you two. We'll prank people and do much mischief. Do you wish to join?" Harry thought for a second. Finally he said,

"I'll do it."

"So will I! I've always had a knack for pranks. Can't hold everything to yourselves guys." She said to the twins. They laughed.

"This'll be a lot-o-fun." Tonks said.

Harry thought 'Weren't her eyes a bright blue? They were green now. Weird.'

"We better get dressed. We'll set up a meeting soon and begin the legion." The left twin said. Harry and Ginny returned to their compartment.

**(Thirty minutes later) **

"Wow Harry muttered as the first years rode the small, dingy, wooden boats across the black lake. Hogwarts looked incredible! It was almost criminal to deny the muggles the right to see this nighttime masterpiece. Hagrid shouted,

"Heads Down!" Both Malfoy and Ron didn't listened to the "Lumbering Oaf" and were hit by the thick vines. They bellowed in pain even though they had just a scratch or two. They tied up the boats to the rickety dock and climbed the winding stairs.

"Almost there Harry." Ginny whispered into his ear as they watched a tentacle of the giant squid break the lake's surface and wave hello to them.

**(Ten minutes later)**

Oh you may not think I'm pretty,But don't judge on what you see,I'll eat myself if you can findA smarter hat than can keep your bowlers black,Your top hats sleek and tall,For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting HatAnd I can cap them 's nothing hidden in your headThe Sorting Hat can't see,So try me on and I will tell youWhere you ought to might belong in Gryffindor,Where dwell the brave at heart,Their daring,nerve, and chivalrySet Gryffindors apart;You might belong in Hufflepuff,Where they are just and loyal,Those patient Hufflepuffs are trueAnd unafraid of toil;Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,if you've a ready mind,Where those of wit and learning,Will always find their kind;Or perhaps in SlytherinYou'll make your real friends,Those cunning folks use any meansTo achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!And don't get in a flap!You're in safe hands (though I have none)For I'm a Thinking Cap!

The school burst into cheers. Professor McGonagal held a list and spoke,

"When I call your names, you will put the Sorting Hat on, and it will sort you into your houses. Abbot, Hannah!" The list slowly dwindled down. Harry just wanted it to end. He didn't care where he'd be at but the rest of the magical world apparently sure did. Draco was sent to the snake table a second after the hat touched his fair hair. Harry and Ginny groaned when both Hermione and Neville ended up in Gryffindor. But it looked like they weren't happy about it either.

Finally the time came. "Potter, Harry!" He walked up to the stool while the other students whispered loudly to each other. He was sure that he'd seen some gold Galleons exchange hands. Albus Dumbledore was staring intently at him. He put on the Hat and a voice spoke in his mind.

'Oh! Oh my! Harry Potter. About time you'd gotten here. My, my! Occulemency perhaps?' It asked sarcastically.

'Yes. I've been practicing. Can't be to careful with Voldy's Death Eaters still running around.'

'Yes and certain staff here as well. But now to the point, may I see into your mind?'

'Certainly. Thank you for asking.' He lowered his shields slightly.

'My, my, my. Aren't you just full of surprises Mr. Potter.'

'Godric, please just put me in the house that would be best suited for me.' He lowered his defenses more and the hat gasped.

'You're the first magical being to have ever worn me that didn't have a preference. Not to mention that you know my real name. Godric wasn't very creative by the way. Yes, I know you're listening Gryffindor! And you have another half with you Harry! Interesting. Been quite a while since this kind of connection. I'd recommend Restricted Section Book number Five Hundred Twelve. Don't worry, I never tell what I've seen. Going to have make sure you both are in the same house. If you weren't…..' The hat mental shuddered. 'Gryffindor is brave which you both are. Hufflepuff is loyal. Entirely. Hmm…Ravenclaw is smart, you two qualify for that. But just as easily cunning for Slytherin. But where to put you. There once was a house for those with a balance to the four houses but due to the world's ethics these days, there are so few that it was closed.'

'What? How come? What about the students like me and Ginny that come then?' Harry asked.

The hat looked back between the tables, looking almost pitiable. It sighed. 'They'd just be put into one of the four houses left. It does sadden me when I have to do so, but a bad headmaster from three centuries ago put a spell on me. It prevented me from being able to put the remaining students in the fifth house. He was about to lose his job and was a bit desperate. No one has even noticed the curse since then.'

'I promise Godric, when I am able to, I am going to right the wrongs with the wizarding world.' The hat chuckled.

'Judging by the power radiating from you, I expect to see that very soon. The ministry's going to have a nice little wake up call.'

'Um…Godric…I think everyone's getting restless.'

Indeed, I think I have decided. I still wish the fifth house was curse free. You'd be great you know, in the fifth house. But from what I can see, the plans you have for the future of Hogwarts will help the world indeed.. Very well laid out. Albus will be in for a shock as well. And now, the house I shall be putting you in…" The Great Hall was dead silent. The Sorting Hat opened it's mouth rim wide and shouted to the dead,

"Ravenclaw!"

A/N: So the house has been revealed! Congrats to the Birds! Snakes, don't fret! The house of snakes shall be redeemed! I promise that it will. There just might be a few friends Harry will make that are snakes. So please don't fret! The story has only just begun. Now what is that little legion Harry and Ginny are joining? We have broken 40,000 words! And we are only at the Sorting! It's all thanks to you guys! **Thank You All!**

**Score**

Birds-134

Snakes-132

**Story Stats**

**As of Chapter Ten**

**Number of Reviews-344**

**Number of Chapters-10**

**Number of Words-35633**

**Hits-26197**

**C2's-8**

**Favorites-127**

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**Thanks To…**

Miz636, Harrlovesginny7, Lunar202, , beast1983, buddygirl1004, Parselmouth,

Voldemort's little girl, Green Lion, Red Serpent, Snake girl, silver tongue, Lady Morgana, Lord Marcus, Slytherin desu, Bubbles the giant squid, Vball gal, The silent serpent, Slytherin's heir, Math Wiz,

Bonnie Riddle, phoenix child, Asp girl, Snake luver, good girl parsel mouth, Loyal Slytherin, Tindual, The green lioness, Wii, Stone, Slytherin is awesome, Phoenixfire Dragon light, Padfoot lover, Reader, Dumbledore is evil, Emerald eyes, Grimm, Blue Serpent, brittlovesyou, CaptinMacca, Sol-Scion,

Scarlet Phoenix, Wolfgirl 95, Headwig, Spidergirl, Lori92, GreenRaven, HPFan, Grimm, Frost, the girl, ppk, Professor Chris, Short Chick, mdauben, whyeveramihere, Cool Green, Azkaban escapee, Nightwing509, GinevraLachesis-Azne, potter Cullen-4ever, bottl4, mwinter, Jedi prankster, Thawk6, L17, Comet Moon, dead1a, benperez31, linde1997, octopu86 'Max, Bostongirl 2012, Red, Loretta, Slythedore, Lazybones, The last snake, Greenblood, Biogirl, Lily Luna, Traitors, shinigamigirl196, LD, Timeturners, Snitches, Lucy Goosey, Nipponjin no on'nanoko, Arisa, ichiro, Noriko, Yuki, Blue Octopus, Thunderbird8950, Cwazychick, Bongo, Dark Mark, Mistress Mayella Malfoy, First to last,

Lady Marauders, Miss Grim, Floyddickey, Bobby, X, Aphrodite, Coolkidz, Amy, Colleen,

WW1-know-it-all, Wallygirl, lysen5972, Miss Mille.

**Bragging Rights**

Miz636-Draco, Hermione, and Neville

Buddygirl1004- Hermione/Neville, Draco, Tonks

Tindual-Ron

PhoenixFire Dragon Light- Neville, Tonks

Brittlovesyou- Hermione, Neville, Draco, Ron,

Frost-Ron

Mdaube-Hermione/Neville, Draco

Potter cullen -4ever- try to be friends with Draco, Tonks

Thawk6-Hermione, Neville, Ron, Draco,

Comet Moon-Lateness

Dead1a-Hermione, Neville, N. Tonks on train

Benperez31- Hermione, Neville, Tonks

ThunderBird8950-Hermy/Nev,

Lysen5972-Hermy/Nev, Accio, Draco

Miss Mille-Trouble

**Oswald Winners**

Miz636

Harrlovesginny7

Ppk

Potter cullen -4ever

benperez31

I chose Oswald because he is one of my favorite cartoon characters of all time. His full name is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He was going to be the original Mickey Mouse but Walt Disney had a contract issue with his contractor, Universal. Walt got on the train home without the rabbit. He got off with a mouse named Mickey. The two finally met in the videogame, EPIC MICKEY. It's one of my all time favorites. I don't care about the camera controls cause the story makes up for it tenfold! I am ultra obsessed with Disney.

**Challenges**

**1. What will happen next?**

**2. **

**a. What will the names be of the new pranksters?(Old ones-Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs).**

**b. What will there animagus forms be? (Harry and Ginny's are already decided)**

**See you at the Hogwarts Feast! **

**SuperXBrother**


	12. Sorting Part Two

_**Hey guys! Thank you for all the reviews! I do apologize however for the clumsiness of my Raven-Snake voting epidemic. I made it very unorganized and unclear. But hopefully the future ones will be a lot easier to follow. Anyway, I am sorry to all the snake lovers. One side was going to have to lose. But Harry really has a split personality between Raven and Snake. He's both wise and cunning. He is also hardworking and courageous but I wanted to make a different sort of Harry Potter. The snake house will rise again to its former glory and (spoiler alert) **__Harry will make friends with a snake or two. The fifth house's mystery shall be uprooted as well. I do hope that you will continue to enjoy the story regardless of your house placement. Thank you for the +30,000 hits you all have given me. Now onto the story!_

_**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**The Sorting Part Two**_

"_Ravenclaw!" _

_The Great Hall stood in deathly silence. An ant could be heard crawling across the polished marble floors. The students, ghost, and staff were all thinking the same thing. The same thoughts revolving around our young Mr. Harry James Potter. Even the Slytherins were shut up and shocked into place._

'_A Potter?' They all thought at once. 'Not in Gryffindor?' Some guessed. 'Hmph! Now he'll be even more arrogant than his father.' Guess who that was! _

"_Thank you for placing me properly." Harry said to Gideon._

"_No, thank you Mr. Potter. Thank you for being unbiased. And after all, keeping everyone waiting for seven minutes really messes with them." The old, ragged Sorting Hat laughed back. Harry plucked the ragged, smirking hat off of his unmanageable hair and set it upon the wooden, three legged stool. He stepped away from the gapping mouths of the staff table. He strode to the staring eyes upon the silent faces the student body held and sat down at the Ravenclaw table. He met Ginny's face and they both smiled._

'_Bet you a sickle that they'll be gapping for another five minutes.' Harry thought to her. She smirked._

'_You are so on. I bet it'll be ten. Hey look at my gits for brothers.' Harry turned and glanced at the Weasley Brothers. Percy sent a frown Harry's way. 'He was probably all ready to shake your hand and everything. Maybe even become your tutor slash mentor.' Ginny laughed out. Harry smirked. Fred and George held big, fat, identical grins on their mischievous, identical faces. He saw Hermione and Neville over at the Lion table giving him big smiles._

'_They'll think being an innocent little Raven will be perfect. Who'd expect a smart student to be in league with the twins?' Harry thought. _

'_Ron's not looking so hot at the moment.' Ron's face blended with his hair. 'How could he possibly expect to be placed into the same house as you now?' Ginny thought again. 'He hasn't got anything but hot air between his ears.' Harry let out a soft chuckle. _

_One minute passed. _

_Two minutes passed._

_Three minutes passed. _

_Four minutes passed._

_Five minutes passed._

_Six minutes passed. _

_Seven minutes passed._

_Eight minutes passed._

_Nine minutes passed._

_Ten minutes passed._

'_Look's like I won Mr. Ravenclaw.' Ginny trilled in laughter._

'_Yeah yeah. Looks like everyone's starting to get back to normal.' Ginny looked around and indeed, everyone was slowly beginning to move once more. Albus Dumbledore was the first to speak. He was stuttering for the first time in his life, trying to find the right words._

"_Now um…then…Mr. Potter cannot be a Ravenclaw." The Raven table looked up in anger. A Slytherin or two snorted in laughter. "He belongs in Gryffindor." Percy cheered Dumbledore on along with quite a many others including Ron. "There must have been…a…technicality…with…the Sorting Hat. It wouldn't happen again. So Mr. Potter, please come up and be properly sorted into your rightful house." Harry chuckled again and obliged. _

"_Yes sir." He said as he got up. He walked over to the stool and once again sat and placed the Hat upon his head._

'_Lightning can strike twice Mr. Potter. Remember that.' The voice in his ear said gently. It opened its mouth and shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" _

"_Another technicality. Try it again Harry." Albus boasted proudly. Harry did as asked and for the next few minutes, the chant of Ravens began. Albus was becoming more pale yet commanding each time. Harry saw him even wave his wand under the table to try and bewitch the Hat. Unfortunately for him, he did not know the founders had placed massively complex curses and spells to prevent this. Ginny, the twins, Neville, Tonks, and Hermione all laughed each time the Headmaster's face become impossibly more whiter than his snow colored beard. On the twelfth time Professor McGonagol said annoyed,_

"_Albus, this is the twelfth time! And as the previous eleven sortings have shown, Harry is to be placed into Ravenclaw. We are only halfway down the list and it will soon be midnight. Can't we just continue on?"_

_After the thirteenth time, Albus reluctantly proclaimed Harry a Ravenclaw and the Sorting resumed on with Samuel Putton._

_Finally Weasley, Ginevra, came up. Annoyed at her birth name, Ginny placed the ragged Hat on her fiery red hair. After about three minutes, the Hat screamed,_

"_RAVENCLAW!" The house was once again silenced. The first Weasley to be born a girl, was also to be placed into a house outside Gryffindor? Ron, next in line, hadn't even been paying attention. He'd rather been staring hungrily at the empty plates and goblets of pure gold. Ginny happily skipped over to the table and sat down next to Harry._

"_Weasley, Ronald." came up next and the moment the hat touched his head it mumbled what sounded something like,_

"_Uflpuf would suit you quite nicely with your talents." _

_McGonagall asked hurriedly, "What was that again?" The hat seemed surprised because Ron's face turned to purple in what seemed to be a war against the hat's judgment. The Sorting Hat seemed to sigh and said quietly,_

"_Gryffindor." Ron proudly walked over to the Gryffindor table. Strangely, the Hall was quiet for some bizarre reason. A reason that couldn't possibly have to do with our favorite couple, right?_

_The last four students were sorted and Albus came up to his owl shaped podium. _

"_Before we begin our feast, I have a few words to say." Ron whined extremely loudly. "And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."_

_Harry said awkwardly, "Um…is he…um…I don't know…a bit…mad in the head?" Ginny laughed._

"_Well…that can happen to you when your over a hundred and fifty." Harry joined in the laughter and the feast began._

_After a well eaten feast the clock showed midnight. A few first years were passed out, the side of their head lying in their soup. Albus had given them a few announcements that could have been already guessed by the muggleborns and muggleraised. But the magically raised students showed much confusion as to why the rules were enforced. But the last one was what put Harry off. _

"_Why would he tell the entire student body to not go into a forbidden corridor? That would only make the students want to find out what's in there." Harry said._

"_The muggle raised ones will understand. There is something that people should mess with in there. But the wizarding ones will be over confident , thinking their magic will protect them. That's the way the wizening world works Harry."_

"_We've got a lot of work to Ginny." He groaned at the magical world's stupidity. The students to soon find their common rooms when Harry overheard a discussion over at the Gryffindor table. _

"…_Ginny at?" Ron asked. He was oblivious to his brothers' glares._

"_You mean…"_

"_To tell me…" _

"_and me that you…"_

"_didn't even have…"_

"_the common courtesy…"_

"_to watch your own…"_

"_sister's sorting?"_

"_Well yeah. Ginny's obviously a Gryffindor. Too bad Harry's over at the bird brain table. They're going to take away my time with him!" He complained. The twins' glares hardened more._

"_Check out…"_

"_the first years…"_

"_of those very same birdbrains." Ron looked over and his eyes almost popped out of his skull. He stormed over to Harry and Ginny._

"_GINNY! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR FAMILY? YOU HAVE BETRAYED THE NOBLE HOUSE OF GRYFFINDOR FOR A COUPLE OF LOUSY SNAKES?" The Ravenclaws were just about ready to prevent the last Weasley male to ever be sorted, or live to be able to sit on a toilet seat._

"_WAIT UNTIL I WRITE TO MUM AND SHE HERES ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU'VE GONE AND JOINED THE HOUSE THAT PRODUCED THE SECOND MOST WIZARDS IN ALL OF HOGWARTS! YOU'VE RUINED OUR FAMILY'S REPUTATION AS PURE LIGHT WIZARDS! YOUR GOING TO JOIN YOU KNOW WHO! YOU MIGHT EVEN BE GOING TO BECOME THE NEXT DARK LADY!_

_Ginny shrugged and said, "Congrats on becoming a lion Ronald. But what was that word the Hat said? Could it have been…Puff?" Ron scowled but he had something in between his ears cause he turned around to walk away. But not before saying, "Harry mate. Trust me. That demon is bad news. You should stay far away from her and spend more time with your true house. There was definitely something wrong with the hat if you were placed in the same house as her." He vanished in a sea of students._

_**(Ravenclaw Common Room)**_

"_Can't believe that…no good…stupid…little…" Ginny spat as she punched the dark blue couch's pillow. _

"_Ginny, he's a prat. We both know that. He doesn't. Come on now, it's already two in the morning."_

"_That whole thing was your fault though." She groaned. He chuckled. The hugged each other goodnight and went to bed. Harry climbed the boy's stairs. He found out from a fourth year that the girl's staircase wasn't so keen on letting males up. The red welt in his head proved that when he slid into the wall. Laughing to himself, he entered the First year boy's dormitory. All his bunkmates were passed out across their beds already. Gazing out the window was a familiar white owl with bright, amber eyes. Grinning, he walked over and stroked her feathers. _

"_Boy, it sure was smart of you finding that disguise spell." The owl hooted and her body seemed to melt. It turned into a black goop which quickly reshaped into a different creature. Standing where the owl was, a beautiful creature stood. It let out a musical trill. Its feathers swaying slightly from the light breeze from out side. The female owl had shed the disguise and turned into its true form. Ardoris stood there, grinning at him, and leapt into the black shine of the new moon. Calling out to Harry, he said, _

"_Yeah I know I'm awesome!"_

_A/N: Whoa! Harry was sorted a total of thirteen times cause Albus Dumbledore is flat out insane and can not accept the truth? WOW! And what is with those weird words he says. How much more stuff can I mess up with J. K, Rowling's amazing masterpiece? _

_This is only the first book! Hedwig is really Ardoris in disguise? Awkward!_

_And now…The info stuff and Challenges!_

_**Thanks to…**_

_Nightwing 509, harrlovesginny7, Harry and Ginny and Daphne, buddygirl1004, Comet Moon, Floyddickey, mdauben, ProffessorChris, NUDGELOVER, mworth1019, Thawk6, Frost, _

_Alice-and-Jasper-Forever, whyeveramihere, CaptMacca, MissMille, octopus 86'Max, JennaHenna,_

_moon of starless night, Mei Fa-chan, Jim Red Hawk, shadeirion, hpgwfan628, Mathew Potter, _

_Mein Gimli_

_**Bragging Rights Go To…**_

_HpGwfan628-for-guessing the spoiler at the top of the chapter. Can you read minds? I already had that idea before you commented!_

_**Challenges**_

_**1.**__ These will be the classes Harry goes to in the next chapter. What will happen in…_

_a. Transfiguration?_

_b. DADA?_

_c. Potions? This one will be my favorite to write. You'll have to wait and see why ;)_

_d. Charms?_

_**2. **__Animagus form question like in previous chapter._


	13. Just Another Day At Hogwarts

A/N: Hi guys! I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT! I have had a lot of stuff going on. I have three end of the quarter tests and a research paper next week so that's the reason that I haven't been updating in a while. I was going to upload this chapter onto the site a few days ago, but thanks to a certain Error Type Two that we all hate, I couldn't update the story.

Harry Potter Belongs To J.K. ROWLING! NOT ME!

I'M TRYING TO UPDATE ALL MY STORIES IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS SO YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO WAIT ANY LONGER.

The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone

Chapter Thirteen

Just Another Day At Hogwarts

Harry Potter was asleep in his bed. He was dreaming. But not of the fields and castles that he and Ginny normally had. No, this was a different kind of dream. A strange nightmare where he sensed something that was both powerful and pure evil.

Harry was at first wearing Professor Quirrell's strange, ugly turban. He saw an evil, dark aura of the deepest black leaking from it. It spoke into Harry's very mind and said in a high, raspy voice,

"Hello Harry Potter. Yes I know who you are. I must tell you something of utmost importance. It is your destiny. You must ask to transfer into Slytherin. If you do not, the world will surely crumble to the darkness. " It began to laugh and wrapped itself tighter around his head. Straining to speak, Harry shouted,

"No! I will not be in Slytherin! Who are you?" It continued laughing and said, "Only time will tell Harry. Only time will tell.". The turban flew off his head and a burst of green light erupted around him.

The emerald green light dimmed into a red glow. And this time, a different, powerful voice spoke into his mind. This one had no item to speak from. It had to be someone nearby, casting a dream spell. Harry checked the aura of the voice. It was oddly colored. White but with huge black splotches here and there. Like the one before it, the voice again told him to switch houses.

"It is for the good of the world that you become a Gryffindor. If you continue your education as a Ravenclaw, you will surely be on the pathway to the darkness and the world shall be corrupt with evil."

Once more, Harry told the mysterious voice in his head that he would continue being a Ravenclaw and that he was proud to be called one. The voice let out a great sigh. Harry could feel the anger waving off the voice, outraged that he would not follow its orders and submit to its requests.

"Very well. You can continue your silly belief of being a Ravenclaw. But I know that deep down, you long to be a Gryffindor. I can see what others refuse to believe. You will do as I say. You shall convince the others that my ideals are correct. They always have been. Yet the world is in denial to what will be truth. You are in denial as well, in more ways than one, but there are numerous ways that I can persuade you to switch houses Harry. The sooner you do, the easier it will be for the world to accept that I am right." The world flashed a streak of brilliant, corrupted, red light and then he knew no more. Harry submitted to the everlasting night.

His eyes shot open. Awakened in his very own Hogwarts bed. He let out a sigh of relief. His roommates hadn't even stirred. How could he have been silent when he was screaming at those two voices that he was to be a Ravenclaw? How did they not hear him thrashing around?

Suddenly he heard a creak. He was still lying down, pretending to be asleep. There was someone in the room. Someone else was awake. It seemed to be creeping towards the door, trying to escape. All Harry was a purple end of a robe. And that seemed to vanish into thin air along with to sound.

'Looks like someone forgot about vanishing and silencing spells up until now.' Harry thought. 'It's too late to chase whoever it was. They're already gone.'

And Harry Potter did not go back to sleep that night. He knew the dream was important. He two separate voices…he had heard them before. They had said that it was his destiny to switch to their preferred house. And the person who had been watching him…what were they up too?

He couldn't go back to sleep. He did not know how, but he somehow knew that person had placed a memory charm on him. Had he not been trained by the elders in the mind, he would have be forced to sleep and the dream wiped from his mind. But the voices would have been stuck in his head. He stayed up all night, the memory charm was actually really weak. It was designed for less than one night. Whoever it was that cast it clearly underestimated him by a long shot.

At around four in the morning, Harry got out of bed. His roommates were still snoring like mad. He walked quietly down the stairs with a silencing and vanishing charm. No one could possibly know that he was there.

"Hi Harry."

He jumped and in a second, he found himself flooring a small girl with the tip out his wand poking at her throat. The petite girl chuckled.

"Well good morning to you too."

"Ginny? Ho-how did you know…I was…I had…" She put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"Did you really forget we have this little bond that we need to research?" She fake pouted. He rolled his eyes.

'Man this bond is cool, but god it can be annoying at times.' He thought.

'Sure is.' Ginny thought back with a big fat smirk on her face. Harry forgot she could hear his thoughts as well. "Come on," she said. "We need to get going. The others will be awake in a few hours and we need to start our secret training."

They cast the usual invisibility, soundless, and disillusion charms. The two students easily walked right out of the castle through the front doors, casting a silencing charm on the noisy hinges of course.

The sun was still not visible yet the eternal black sky was slowly giving way to the pink light of day. The black lake was still dark but would leisurely begin to glow. Harry and Ginny walked over to a lone tree.

"Okay Harry. Three laps around the lake. Loser has to do a favor for the winner."

"Your on!" Harry brought out the Holly Wand and cast a countdown spell. "On the green sparks." The red sparks hovered in the air, bursting with changing colors.

Red…Red…..Red…Yellow…Yellow….GREEN!

The two were evenly matched. Ginny was smaller and quicker, but lacked stamina. Harry's underdeveloped, thin body made him slower, but years with the Dursleys increased his stamina tenfold.

After a exhausting race, the two were on the final stretch. They were insanely tired but they would not give up. They could see the tree a hundred feet in front of them. Seventy five. Fifty. Thirty. Twenty. Fifteen. Ten. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

BAM!

They had ran so fast that they couldn't stop. Luckily Ginny had cast a painless spell over Harry and herself to prevent this kind of thing from causing damage. They were fine, the tree on the other hand…well Harry had to cast a Reparo on it. He had also put a recording spell to show who had won.

He activated the second part of the spell. A mist appeared out of thin air and the crashing finish came into focus. It was….a tie?

"How are we supposed to gloat now?" Ginny asked, a bit annoyed.

"Guess we have two options, we can each do a favor for each other or none at all. Your choice Ginny. I don't care either way." Ginny's eyes went wide.

"You-you're letting me pick?"

"Of course. Why not? That what a gentleman does right?"

"Well…I guess. But I've never seen a real gentleman act before. All I've seen are my brothers goofing off."

"What about your dad?"

"Mom's a control freak Harry. Dad is a bit unconfident and does what she says every time."

"Really? I thought that with the way you are, that your mum would have been super nice!"

"She acts nice when someone else is around. Keep up the family image you know. We've "always" been a light family. Or so she says. Even though her great uncle served under the dark lord, Obstanian, who was defeated less than a week after he boasted in a pub that he was to be the future ruler of the world. But anyway, when she finds out I'm a Raven instead of a Gryff, she'll go raving mad."

"Sorry. Anything I can do to help?"

"No not much. She wants control. She went further in her controlling stage after Fred and George started pranking.

"They started? They weren't born pranking?" Harry asked, shocked. Ginny giggled.

"Yep. But they started really close to that. Right around when they were two year olds. But anyway, if it's just our family, she reverts to her normal self. She's raised me to have no ambition in life, be married to a pureblood, be a proper lady, and bear out as many kids as possible. In other words, her clone. Unfortunately for her, I'm a bit of a rebel."

'You got that right.' He thought. She snorted out in laughter.

"Alright Mr. Wisecrack. Just for that one, I say yes. We'll each do one favor for the other." He grinned.

"Okay. But remember, it has to be just between us. It cannot draw any attention from anyone. Otherwise, they'll think something's up." She smirked.

"You have just sealed your faith Mr. Potter." She said in a dangerously low voice. They laughed in their silencing charm all the way back to the common room.

**(6:00 AM Great Hall)**

Harry and Ginny both entered the Great Hall. They had cast a few "morning routine" charms, hair washing, teeth cleaning, ect, to make sure that no one knew they were training not only their minds, but their bodies too. The Hall was empty save only a few of the teachers. It seemed that the students and most of the teachers were going to try to get a few more hours sleep, then rush down and hope there's still breakfast left. The two students walked to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. Two golden plates appeared in front of them and they began to eat.

A short, white bearded man walked up to them. He held two slips of parchment in his hands.

"Hello children. Early birds are you?" He said in a squeaky sort of voice.

"Always have been Professor." Ginny said cheerfully. The tiny man squeaked in joy.

"Glad to hear that. We haven't had a student up and awake before eight in about twenty years."

"I seemed to notice that there are only a few teachers up too sir." Harry commented. Flitwick sighed heavily.

"Yes. Many of the teachers have the same attitude about learning as students do. I'm glad to see some people are still willing to learn. You two truly do belong in my house." He held out the parchment.

"Is this our schedule sir?" Ginny asked.

"Why yes my dear." Flitwick said.

"Sir, with all due respect, Hogwarts is massive. How are we supposed to find our classes?" Harry asked.

"That is always a problem I've tried to address. All the first years are granted today to learn the halls of Hogwarts. I'm not prejudice or anything but this is not nearly enough for even the purebloods. The muggleborns are just plain lost. I've tried to promote the idea of more time but the Ministry of Magic denies me every time." He sighed. "All I've been able to do is give the first years today to learn how to navigate through the castle."

"Well that shows how incompetent the Ministry is." Harry said simply. "At least you've gotten to start something to help everyone Professor."

Flitwick gasped. No child have ever spoke about the ministry like that before. The Ministry hid anything that showed that it was run by morons. And to appreciate what he had done, these two were very different. Very different indeed.

"Well…I'm glad to see that some people have common sense about the structure of the Ministry. And thank you. I was lucky to pull off one day. A lot of pureblood lovers want the muggleborns to not I'll be watching you two. I have a feeling you'll be very important. See you in Charms Class. Don't be late."

"We wont be." Ginny called out as he turned. They looked at their schedules.

**1****st**** Year Ravenclaw Schedule **

**Monday **

6:00-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-10:30 Transfiguration

10:45-12:10 D.A.D.A.

12:20-12:50 Potions

12:55-2:10 Lunch

2:25-4:00 Herbology

6:00-8:00 Dinner

**Tuesday **

6:00-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-10:00 Herbology

10:05-11:05 Potions

11:10-12:35 History of Magic

12:45-1:20 Lunch

1:30-2:00 Break

2:10-4:00 Charms

6:00-8:00 Dinner

**Wednesday **

6:00-9:00 Breakfast

12:00-1:30 AM Astronomy

9:00-12:30 History of Magic

12:40-1:10 Lunch

2:25-3:00 Break

3:10-4:00 Potions

6:00-8:00 Dinner

**Thursday **

6:00-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-10:35 Herbology

11:40-12:20 Lunch

12:30-2:30 Potions

2:35-4:00 History of Magic

6:00-8:00 Dinner

**Friday **

6:00-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-10:00 Charms

10:15-12:00 Transfiguration

12:05-12:55 Potions

1:00-1:30 Lunch

1:40-2:10 Flying

2:15-3:00 D.A.D.A

3:05-4:00 History of Magic

6:00-8:00 Dinner

"Look! We've got all our classes together tomorrow!" Harry said happily. "It's almost all of them in one day but still!"

"Why do we have History and Potions everyday?" Ginny asked. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Don't know. Guess they're important?" Harry guessed.

"All my brothers went to Hogwarts and even in fifth year with the O.W.L. Tests, they never had the same class this many times in one week. Something's up."

"We'll figure it out later. Let's look at what else we have. Flying! That'll be fun!" He grinned.

"Ugh." Ginny groaned. "Look at Wednesday." He looked at her sheet.

"What's wrong with Potions, History, and Astronomy?" Harry asked confused.

Ginny took a mouthful of porridge, swallowed, and said, "Potions is taught by Snape. He's supposed to be a git who hates everyone who is not a Slytherin. Astronomy is way to early to get up. I may be a morning person, but it's a crime to force students to get up that early for class.' They finished their meals and exited the Great Hall.

Professor Filius Flitwick sat on his seat on the far end of the staff table. Those two, Harry and Ginny, were interesting. Only a few teachers, including him, knew that Ginny was supposed to come next year. To think she had so much magic that Hogwarts herself put her on the list…and Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived sure seemed easy eating in a hall where owls swooped around overhead, delivering mail. The tiny Professor still thought it was idiotic for Dumbledore to place Harry with those muggles. Once again, only he and a few other teachers knew about the real story of Harry. Much more than Dumbledore let on. Those two students were going to be powerful, and he couldn't wait to see them in his first period tomorrow morning. He giggled to himself as he saw Dumbledore step into the Great Hall, looking around for something, rather someone.

"Dumbledore's in for a surprise." He said to himself, his smile full of mischief.

"History of Magic is supposed to be a snooze fest. The teacher is a ghost that teaches in a never ending, never changing voice. He has never moved from his podium. Even when class ends, he just keeps on reading from the book." Ginny said as they rounded the History class room. Harry looked inside and sure enough, there was the late Professor Binns, talking about the Merpeople uprising of 487 to a non existent class.

"But isn't it better to know your history in order to keep from repeating mistakes?" Harry asked logically. Then someone spoke to him through his thoughts.

'Harry, wizardkind hasn't used logic for centuries.' It was Merlin. Then Morgana spoke.

'Dear, ever since wizards stop looking at Merlin the human, and started worshiping Merlin the all powerful, the magnificent, whatever suits your fancy, the world has gone downhill. Merlin was a powerful wizard, yes. But he was mortal as well. And the wizarding world, they just couldn't see that. After they stop seeing him as mortal, they started relying on his every word. Whatever he said must have been true. For he was Merlin. And he could do no wrong. Merlin tried to stop that absurd way of thinking, but the world was not willing to change. Then Merlin died and the world was in denial and a frenzy. Merlin could not die! He was immortal! Since then, the world has continued to be corrupted and blindly place its loyalties into "all powerful" people such as Tom Riddle and Dumbledore. Some wizarding parts of the world accepted that Merlin was gone and was not coming back. Others, like this land of England, their rulers are still focused on finding Merlin."

They ran into Hermione and Neville just then.

"Oh! Hi you guys! I didn't see you two at breakfast." Hermione said.

"We're both really early risers Hermione. Harry said. "We already ate and we're now trying to find our routes for class."

"What've you got?" Neville asked quietly. They exchanged parchment.

"Looks like we've got Transfiguration on Monday. You're stuck with us in Herbology and Charms Tuesday. History on Wednesday. We've all got Astronomy together of course."

Everyone groaned at the mention of getting up that early.

"Yeah…that'll be bad. Now then, Thursday, we've got History all together, Herbology, and D.A.D.A. Friday we've all got classes together."

"Ha-Harry?" Neville asked shyly.

"Neville. Remember, we're your friends. You don't have to be afraid to say what's on your mind. You don't have to tell us what you dealing with but know that we are always here to listen to what you say." Ginny said. She had a smile on her face when Neville's eyes widened with joy.

"Now Neville, what did you want to ask me?" Harry asked his shy friend.

"Wh-why do we have Potions and History of Magic everyday?"

"I don't know. Might have been a mistake in the system. might have been something else. Who knows."

"Well Neville and I both are going to route our path. See you guys later." Hermione called as they changed direction into a different hall.

'Okay guys.' Harry thought. 'We can talk again.'

'Good. Now…where were we?' Godric asked. Everyone laughed.

'We were discussing the ministry's incompetence dear.' Rowena said through burst of giggles.

'Oh hardy-har-har.' Godric grumbled.

'So anyway, back to our discussion. The Ministry is trying to find Merlin?' Ginny thought. 'Still? After this many centuries?'

'Yep.' Godric answered. 'Some have come and said that their the reincarnation, or heir, or what ever else of Merlin.'

'There's been no evidence of anyone being the heir since the die our father died.' Helga said.

'But as of now, only two descendents live. One through direct bloodline, the other by a bond.' Rowena laughed. 'Yet those idiots still search in secret for the heir.'

'The idiots, as our smarty pants Rowena so nicely put it,' Even Harry and Ginny cowered under the intensity of the glare Rowena was giving the dead snake named Salazar. 'Uh…are growing restless and more paranoid each day.' He finished quickly.

'We'll settle this later.' Rowena promised sternly, but with an evil grin. Salazar gulped.

Helga laughed at the irony. The two heirs so discreetly but actively searched for via the Ministry were at a school right out in the open. Everyone in the wizarding world knew about Harry Potter and the fact that he **"chose" **to go to Hogwarts. The Daily Prophet would publish a ten page report on it by tomorrow at the latest. They were so close to the idiots who have searched centuries for them and the idiots were no close then they were five thousand years ago.

Salazar said, 'I feel that they may soon come out of their hole and into the open. Their searches will become even more desperate as the days blaze on by.'

'Well, I think we should keep them searching for a while.' Ginny thought.

'We don't want to attract any attention from the ministry.' Harry agreed.

'Wise choice you two.' Rowena thought. It was starting to get late and they already mapped out their routes for each day. 'You should get back to the common room.'

'Right.' The heirs agreed.

Harry and Ginny walked back to the common room. Tomorrow, September Third, was the first years' first real day of school.

**(Great Hall, Friday, September Third, 6:00 AM)**

After another run around the lake, with no race or bets, Harry and Ginny used their morning routine spells and entered the Great Hall. They ate their breakfast as usual and went to the library to look for info on their bond. After two hours of looking…NOTHING!

"It must be in the restricted section." Ginny sighed.

"Guess we'll have to get a teacher to sign us a pass." Harry said.

"Lets pick out who'll be our signer."

They left the library in silent anticipation about their first magical class.

**(Charms Classroom, 9:00)**

"Good morning class!" Professor Flitwick said brightly. "Charms. One of the most popular and used forms of magic." Professor Flitwick began a short speech about how the idea of Charms were created and of their many uses. Then he said, "And now I'd like to give you all a little quiz to see what you know and so I can get to know you a little more. Remember, no plagiarism is allowed in any class of Hogwarts."

He cast a levitation spell on a stack of papers. Most of the students grumbled but our favorite four were eager to test their knowledge. Harry looked down at his test sheet.

**1****st**** Year Charms for Beginner's Test**

Harry J. Potter

1. What do you think is definition of Charms?

2. How do you think Charms came into existence?

3. In your own words, what is the theory of Charms?

4. What do you think Charms can do to help the world?

5. What do you think Charms can do to harm the world?

6. How do you think Charms are used?

7. If you could create any kind of Charm that could do whatever you wanted…

A. What would it be called?

B. What would it do?

C. Why would it be invented?

Harry answered the question honestly. He did not know the theory of Charms yet so he write down a descent guess. After thirty minutes, Flitwick called out, "Time's up!" He summoned all the papers back to his desk and told the class to read pages one through sixteen for the remainder of class. Harry opened up his textbook.

Chapter One

What is Charms?

**(Twenty Minutes Later…)**

"I see that most of you have finished reading." Flitwick said happily. "I would now like to discuss with you about your test answers." Most of the class groaned again. "Now students," He said firmly. "I know that it is boring to do nothing best reading and tests. But how do you expect to do this," He cast a blue spell at a the wall clock. It started singing "Devil Went Down To Georgia". The muggleborns gazed in excitement at the idea of clocks singing Southern songs while many of the purebloods looked confused. He waved his wand after the song ended. "…without studying the theory of singing charms. Anyone like to tell me? Good. Now then…," He riffled through the parchment. "Let's see…Ms. Granger…yes. Question Four was a brilliant answer." Hermione beamed at this. "Yet at the same time, you did not put question three into your own words." She looked ready to cry. "My dear, it's the first day! I know that you love reading, but you must learn how to do things without just using books." She nodded. "Mr. Goyle. Your handwriting, forgive me, is worse than a Grindylow loaded up on fizzing Whizzbees. You must learn how to write more neatly in the future." Goyle nodded dumbly and grunted. "Mr. Potter, your definition of Charms in Question One was outstanding. I haven't seen such words sewn together in ages! Yet at the same time your writing about the Theory of Charms, although creative, was not accurate." Harry nodded.

Flitwick continued to praise each student about one triumph and one flaw they made in their test. Soon the bell rang and Flitwick said their homework was to study pages one through sixteen thoroughly. They would begin studying the idea of Charms next class.

**(Transfiguration Class, 10:15)**

Transfiguration went by very slowly. There was a cat sitting on the desk when our four heroes entered. It was five minutes until class started and yet they were the first ones there. It stared at them as they sat down. A minute passed and still no one was there. Harry got up and walked over to the cat.

"Hello Professor You're an Animagus, aren't you?" He said as he scratched it under the chin. The cat purred for a few seconds and then jumped off the table. In its place was a very happy Professor MeGonagal.

"Hello to you Mr. Potter. Fifteen points to Ravenclaw for identifying an Animagus. Especially on the first day. And one point for knowing my animal half's weak spot." She smiled. And turned to the others, sitting calmly. "I see that you three are not surprised. That is highly unusual for first years. I will be transferring back to my cat form. I wish to see how long the students will take. I do this every year Ms. Granger." She said when Hermione was about to speak. "It helps identify the particularly gifted students like Mr. Potter here. I expect you four to act like nothing is happening. Mr. Potter, if fifteen minutes pass, I wish for you to ask me to turn back. Then we shall be amused by the faces of your classmates."

A second later, she was a cat with an evil smirk on its face. Right before the bell, students came pilling in. They all looked relieved to see McGonagal wasn't here to lecture them for almost being late for her class. The bell rang and the students looked around, wondering where their teacher was. Five minutes passed. Still no McGonagal. Just a cat sitting on the desk, glaring. Ten minutes. The students kept looking back and forth.

Fourteen minutes passed and the doors burst open. A red haired blur ran in. It was Ron. He looked around…and grinned.

"Hah! No McGonagal here!"

"Uh…Ron?" Ginny asked, trying to laugh.

"Quiet Ginny." He didn't even look at her. He looked around. And his eyes settled on Harry.

"There you are Harry!" He ran over to the chair Ginny was sitting in. He bumped into her. "Hey! Move it! This seat is reserved for me!"

"And why would Ginny move, Ronald?" Hermione asked.

"What…GINNY!" His face matched his hair. "What did I tell you last night? Harry is my friend and no one else's." He turned to Harry. "Come on Harry. Let's leave. This class isn't even worth it. Our stupid, bloody, idiot of a teacher hasn't even shown up!"

The cat glared at the male Weasley and nodded at Harry.

"Um…Ron?"

"What?"

"I don't think you should be calling the teacher a stupid, bloody, idiot. Especially when she's sitting right in front of you."

"No. She's not here. All that's here is that dumb cat."

"Professor McGonagal…how about you change back to normal?" Ron and the rest of the class, save our four students, looked confused. The cat pounced off the desk and transformed in midair.

"What was that about a stupid, bloody, idiot, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagal asked cooly.

"What are you talking about? You weren't here. Just that bloody cat." Ron replied.

'How can someone be that thick?' Harry thought.

"Ron," Ginny began as simply as possible. "Professor McGonagal was the cat."

"No she wasn't." He said. "Stop babbling about nonsense that you don't know about."

"Mr. Weasley, what is this class?"

"Transfiguration. Duh. Are you sure you're the teacher?"

"And what is Transfiguration?"

"That question is too low for me. I'm the best friend of the Boy Who Lived!"

"Why me?" Harry mumbled. McGonagal heard him.

"Detention tomorrow Mr. Weasley. Twenty points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher and another ten for your lateness. Yes, my own house. I don't care if your pals with the Minister. You will follow the rules in my class."

Two Gryffindors grabbed Ron and tried to pull him into a seat before he lost another thirty points. The students stared ludicrously at Harry and Ron.

McGonagal began a lecture about the fundamentals of Transfiguration. She warned that any messing around, she glared at Ron, and that student would not come back. They took complicated( hard for the class but easy for our four heroes) notes. Soon she had the class try a basic form of magic. Changing a match into a needle.

Five minutes later, McGonagal walked around to see how the students were handling the task. Ronald had flung his into the ceiling. Pansy Parkisan was complaining that her match was broken. When she came to Harry and Ginny's desk, her eyes almost bugged out of her head. They both held beautiful golden needles. The sharp tip, she was sure, could have cut a hole into steel. The needles were lined with jewels of dazzling colors. Harry's was emerald green and Ginny's was fiery red.

"Ho-how did…I wish to speak to you two after class."

"Of course Professor." They answered simultaneously.

She went back to her desk and watched the students from afar. Hermione's match was slowly changing into a match with a fine tip. It was still tan colored but McGonagal was sure that it would become a fine needle by the end. Ginny was encouraging her to keep on trying. Harry was helping Neville as well.

"Come on Neville. You've got the silver color but the tip needs to be pointy."

"I-I can't Harry. I'm n-no good at m-magic. I'm-"

"Neville…you're the heir of the Longbottom family. People say mean things. I know from experience. But that is because they're jealous. They know that you have more talent than they do. So they try and bring you down with them. But you Neville, you have extreme talent. I can see it from here. You just have confidence issues. You need to believe that the match will change. Imagine the tip becoming pointed. Imagine the smooth, cold, feel of its sides. Believe that it will change from a match into a needle."

"O-okay. I=I'll try." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and waved his wand. When he opened them, the match was gone! In its place was a shiny needle! Harry was beaming.

"Told you so!"

"T-thanks Harry."

"Neville, you did that. Not me. Look around you. Only you, me, and Ginny have made perfect needles. Hermione's just about to in about a minute. Everyone else has given up cause they don't believe the match will change."

Neville looked at Hermione. Sure enough there she was, holding a silvery needle.

Class soon ended. McGonagal collected only four needles. The rest were either on the ceiling,matches, or broken in half.

Gryffindor got twenty points via Neville and Hermione. It would have been thirty had Ron not thrown a match at McGonagal in his rage. Ravenclaw got thirty due to the amazing needles of Harry and Ginny.

Everyone but Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Neville had homework. Work on turning matches into needles. Harry and Ginny told the two to go on and walked up to the desk.

"I saw what you two did to help Ms. Granger and Mr. Longbottom. That was a perfect example of what students should do to help each other. Never before in my teachings have I seen a display like that before."

"Thank you Professor." They said together.

'They did it again.' She thought, 'I thought only the Weasley twins could do that.'

"I must say, these needles are amazing!"

"I just thought about it becoming a needle." Harry said. "And it became one.

"I did what Harry told me and it was the same." Ginny added. "Then I thought about putting jewels on it, and then they were on. I visualized the idea and it became that idea. Then Harry did that too."

"A perfect definition of what Transfiguration is." McGonagal noted. "Witches and Wizards these days think they just have to wave their wand, say mumbo jumbo, and the spell will work. It is sad. But anyway I must say that you two have shown great potential. I will talk to Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Granger about this too in a few lessons. They showed potential as well, but not as much as you two. The rest of the class will be going over the same thing as today. If they keep at the pace they showed today, we'll be lucky if we start going over color changing spells by Christmas."

"Thank you Professor. I'm sorry about my brother." Ginny said.

"Not to worry dear. I have seen that Mr. Weasley thinks that he'll cruise through school and life thinking that being "friends" with you Mr. Potter, will make him as important.

"He has this ridiculous fantasy that Ginny has bewitched me into being her friend and is jealous of him."

"I see. Well I think that it's safe to say that Gryffindor will not be winning the House Cup until Mr. Weasley graduates. If he graduates, that is."

"You could always expel him." Harry added hopefully. McGonagal laughed.

"A very nice suggestion Mr, Potter. I will look into it. Now then, onto business. I wish for you two to come into class a few minutes early so that I can teach you new spells. You will be allowed, except on testing days, to practice with that spell, rather than the same exercise the class is doing. Is that alright with you two?"

"Yes Professor. On one condition of our own." Ginny said.

"And that is?"

"We do not wish for the Headmaster to know of our magic. Can you try to keep the staff from informing him?"

"I can see why you'd want that. I cannot promise, but I will try. Now onto your next class then."

"Thank you." They said together, again.

"Wait!" McGonagal said.

They came back. She wrote something down on a slip of parchment and then handed it to them.

"You have Potions next. You'll need this."

They left for the dungeons.

**(Potions Class 12:06)**

Our two protagonists entered the dungeons. The chill in the air dropped twenty degrees. The bell had just rang a second ago.

At the front of the class, the hook nosed, greasy haired, teacher who had glared at him the entire Sorting stood. He smiled with a sneer.

"Ah yes." He spoke softly. "Our new celebrity. Tell me Mr. Potter, why do you feel that you are allowed to waltz in whenever in my class?"

"We're sorry sir. Professor McGonagal wanted to speak to us after class and that is why we are late." Harry said as politely as he could.

"There is no lying allowed in my class."

"We aren't lying sir." Ginny said politely as well. "Professor McGonagal gave us a note to give to you." She handed him the note. He sneered at the parchment.

"Fine! Take your seats then! Ms. Weasley over there! Potter in front of my desk." They quickly sat down. Harry silently moaned. He was sitting with Ron who was cheering.

"Glad to see you're ditching that loser and sitting with your real friends." Ron said. Harry looked around. He was surrounded by the Gryffindor 1st Years. They were all looking straight at his scar.

"You are all here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making…" Snape began a long, slow, speech about Potions. Harry tried to listen but it was hard when you have six eleven year olds breathing down your neck, staring at your forehead.

The door opened. Malfoy came in, to Harry's surprise, he wasn't looking confident. He looked like he was actually worried about being late for class.

"I'm sorry for being late sir." He apologized?

"Sit down Malfoy." Snape said gently. He continued his speech for a little while longer.

"Potter!" said Snape quickly. "Why are you not looking me in the eyes when I'm speaking?"

"I'm sorry sir." He looked into Snape's eyes and felt a push on his fortress. He gently let Snape out. The teacher looked surprised and shocked for a second and then he said,

"Let's see what you know. What do I get when I combine powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry thought back. His memories of potions lessons with Salazar flooded his mind. He knew the answer easily, but why was Snape asking sixth year questions to first years?

"The Draught of Living Death sir." Snape growled.

"I need a bezoar. Where do I get one?"

"Inside the stomach of a goat. Mountain ones work the best."

'So he has studied. Maybe he not as arrogant as his father after all. Time will tell. There's no way Potter can get this one!' Snape thought.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfs bane?"

"Nothing. They are the same plant. They also go by the name of aconite?"

"Five points from Gry…Ravenclaw for your cheek. And I will speak to you after class." Snape said. He waited for Potter to shout back.

"Yes sir."

'Why doesn't he challenge my authority?'

"WHAT?" Ron yelled. Some of the Gryffindors backed him up. Others wisely kept their mouths shut.

'Hmm…Weasley and his gang challenge me however.; He thought. 'Interesting.'

"You heard me Mr. Weasley." Snape said simply.

"How could you take away points from Harry. He's the Boy Who Lived! You should be on the ground begging for his apology which of course he wont give to the likes of you!" Ron bellowed. He turned to Harry.

"C'mon Harry. You're not gonna let this idiot win are you?"

"Ron…he's the teacher. I am the student. The teacher is the boss in a classroom."

:You've sent a spell on him! I know it!" Ron yelled at Snape.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for challenging my authority."

"WHAT?"

"And a Detention tonight."

"NO! TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT ME AND HARRY GO AND DUEL MALFOY!"

"Uh…what?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I second Mr. Potter's question. What?" He turned to Malfoy, who's jaw dropped to the floor. "Did you know about this Malfoy?" Before Draco had a chance to speak Ron shouted,

"Course he didn't. We were going to corner him after class and challenge him. Right Harry?"

"Why would I do that?"

"He's Death Eater scum! And he's a Slytherin. And-"

"He's his own person Ron. He may or may not be the son of a death eater. But that doesn't define who he is. He is allowed to make his own choices. Good or bad." Harry said. Ron turned to Ginny and said darkly,

"You've gone and poisoned his mind. He doesn't know what he's saying. Saying a Snake could be good…I will free him from your influence. You're probably using the Imperious curse on him anyway! I challenge you to a wizard's duel."

"Okay Ron." Ginny said. "But not tonight. I feel the entire school will want to see this. A duel for…what exactly?"

"Harry of course!" Dean is my second!"

"And I'll be Ginny's second." Harry said coldly.

"She has corrupted your mind Harry." Ron said shocked.

"I will bring this to the Headmaster." Snape said. 'Maybe this will give him a clue.' "He will prepare the duel. Maybe even bring the Ministry in as well."

"Good." Ron said. "Then the world will see that Ginny's gone dark and Harry is my friend."

"The duel will be announced soon. Now the instructions for this boil cure potion is on the board. Begin!"

The potions class went by silently after that. Malfoy left rather quickly after the bell rang and Harry walked up to Professor Snape.

The teacher cast a spell and a bright blue bubble surrounded them.

"There, that'll keep away prying eyes. Potter, I must say, I've misjudged you."

"What do you mean sir?"

"I thought you'd be just like your father. But I was wrong."

"You shouldn't judge people by first glance. Watch their actions."

"You're smarter than you look Potter. I'm sorry for having to act like I do in class. Dumbledore is a manipulator. Every now and then he tells me to look into the minds of a student a tell him what I see. I was trying to look into your mind until that idiot Weasley interfered."

"He's always like that sir. And he cant accept that Ginny's my friend and not him."

"Yes. Now I'm sorry that this duel has been thrust upon you."

"It's alright sir. I know a lot more spells than a first year should know." He grinned sheepishly.

"Just try and keep the spells in the lower years. Dumbledore's sure to train Weasley up a little and this is his chance to see what you can do. I'm sure he'll also try and call you up to his office to bewitch you to lose the duel. I have no doubt that he'll make it where if you lose, you'll be resorted into Gryffindor. You are trained in magical shields so that shouldn't be a problem. Just don't eat any of the headmster's sweets. They are drugged."

"Thank you sir."

"Good luck in your duel. And if anyone asks I gave you detention for tomorrow. We'll practice to see what you know. None of this comes out of this room." He removed the bubble and Harry exited the class.

The rest of the day blazed past. Classes were a blur. They didn't get into the air in Flying. Madame Hooch first taught them about the properties of the broomstick with the promise of flying next class. History of Magic was a snore. Our four were the only ones who kept awake. They agreed that they needed to know as much as possible. DADA was strange. Harry suspected Quirrell. He seemed to leak the same aura that he felt in the dream. He'd have to keep a watch on him.

He told Ginny about the talk with Snape through their thoughts. They agreed that thy needed to immediately get the book on bonds and train Hermione and Neville on Occulemency.

After their talk Harry went up to bed. He laid his head on the pillows and cast a non interfearence spell around him. He needed to get a goodnight sleep. Especially after today.

And so he did.

**A/N: **There you go! Chapter 13! Ron and Dean vs. Ginny and Harry! Didn't see that one coming did you? (evil laughter). Yes now thanks to you all for waiting patiently! Why do the students have History and Potions everyday? Snape's nice? And the Ministry of Magic is still looking for Merlin? Or his heir/descendent/ reincarnation/whatever?

**Thanks To**

GinnyLovesHarry7 ProfessorChris LLGuido

PuppyProngs JediPrankster Tindual

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LLGuido-Snape

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Challenges

1. What will Harry and Snape discuss during the "detention"?

2. What do you think will happen in Harry's talk with **DUMBbledore?**

**3. What do you think the ministry will do regarding the search for Merlin?**

**Tell me what you think. Ideas are always accepted.**

**See you soon. **

**SuperXBrother**


	14. Ghost of the Past

A/N: Hi! Whew! What a week! Two projects and three tests! I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting but I am trying to get my grades back up to an A average. They are A's and B's but barely. I needed some time to focus, but now I'm back with a vengeance! I'm going to finish this story before the school year ends if it kills me!

The Lord and Lady Phoenix

Chapter Fourteen

Ghost of the Past

The Sun's morning light trickled into the Ravenclaw Common Room. All of the students groaned and put their pillows over their heads, trying to get that extra five minutes of sleep. However, two of the beds were empty. They had been empty since four in the morning.

We find our two heroes panting after a good jog around the lake. It was getting easier and easier each time. Suddenly a dog sized blur of black filled their vision. The next thing they knew, they were on the ground, being licked by a skeleton horse.

"Hello to you two Morse." Ginny said happily. The Thestral responded by giving her an even bigger, wetter, and sloppier lick.

"So I see that you found the place alright." Harry said. The horse stopped licking and nodded. It then looked longingly towards the forest.

"Go on Morse." Ginny said. "I know that Hogwarts has a tribe of Thestrals hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest. You'll feel more at home and they wont recognize another new horse. It's their mating season after all. We'll come visit you from time to time."

Morse gave her and Harry one last sloppy kiss before flying off towards the dark woods.

"So should we go check the library? We do need to look up this bond thing." Harry asked after Morse vanished from sight.

"I already did." Ginny said. Harry gave her a confused look.

"This early?"

"What? I told you I'm a morning person!" She said.

"No person, magical or not, should be able to get up that early and enjoy it." He said simply.

"Well, I'm unique." She said, a mischievous grin plastered onto her face. "So anyway, I snuck into the restricted section-"

"And?" Harry pressed on.

"Nothing! Not a single book on bonds, connections, links, anything!" She growled, frustrated.

"I wonder why. I mean, it is a rare phenomenon even in the wizarding world but still-"

'Rare phenomenon?' Someone thought in his mind.

'Hello Salazar.' Harry and Ginny thought at the same time. 'Has Rowena given you that punishment yet?'

'Yes! Now please, I beg of you, do not mention that again! I can still feel the burns!'

'You did bring it upon yourself dear. We all know that Rowena is the prankster in the family.'

Rowena giggled. Salazar whimpered.

'I would never have guessed you to be the pranker Rowena.' Harry thought. 'I always thought it was more Godric's speed. Seems I was mistaken.'

'Watch it boy!' Godric growled. 'You may be my descendent, but that doesn't exclude you from various forms of torture given via me.'

'Harry, shut it and maybe you can get yourself out of this grave you've dug for yourself.' Ginny thought, no effort put in trying to hide the laughter in her voice.

'But back to our topic, rare phenomenon? Ha! The last real bonds made were from me and Helga and Rowena and Godric. Every now and then, there might be a slight pull, but no one has ever really formed one. Merlin and Morgana had one as well.' Salazar said quickly, clearly wanting to change the subject away from Rowena's latest prank.

'So the wizarding world really is clueless.' Ginny said. It was a statement, not a question.

'Yes dear.' Helga chimed in. 'I'm afraid that since the wizard population began worshiping Merlin as a god, their own intelligence dropped severely.'

'Once again, clueless. So can you tell us anything about these bonds?' Ginny thought.

'I must apologize children.' Rowena thought sadly. 'There has never been a bond this early in the two participants. We have never even been able to truly discover the secrets of the bonds and we've been together for thousands of years! We were all in our thirties when our bonds formed and that was still way too early. We've grown immensely powerful by the first decade was over. For you two however…'

'They'll be stronger than all of us put together in the first year!' Godric yelled out.

While our heroes were busy thinking amongst themselves, a certain old man we all know but do not love was pacing in his office, deep in thought.

'What is happening to my glorious, perfectly executed plan?' He thought.

Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was supposed to arrive at Hogwarts School, nervous and desperate to prove himself. He was supposed to be in his proper home. Gryffindor Tower. He was to be friends with young Ronald Weasley, a student that he himself had carefully selected out of all the first years of Gryffindor.

Instead, the headmaster had found a calm Harry Potter, not nervous about a single thing. Like he had known about magic and Hogwarts for a long time.

'But that is impossible.' The headmaster corrected himself. 'The boy has been raised by the muggle family. What was their name again? Durson? Darsley? Dorsly? Dorsneys? It does not matter! They did somehow…accept…magic, but thanks to me, now they despise the very thought of it. All for the greater good. I placed Harry there. I know that the muggle family hated his guts. That was supposed to make him trust me. See me as a hero! But he does not even look in my direction during meals! All the proper, respectable, magical families do that! Why doesn't Harry? What happened?'

And this duel. Why would Ronald do such a thing? The ministry is going to be all for it if it involves Harry. I'm going to have to cast another spell on Ronald to make him win.

And why did Serverus not find anything inside Harry's mind? How could the boy not be thinking about anything?

He glanced at a great scarlet bird sitting on a perch in his office. The bird looked back at him. Dumbledore shook his head and sat down at his desk.

Had he been looking more carefully, he would have noticed the cold glare the scarlet bird was giving him.

Albus looked at a letter sitting on his desk. It was addressed as followed,

_To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

The letter had the ministry seal on it. Sighing, he opened the letter and began to read the words on the parchment.

_Dear Albus,_

_Hello my old friend. How are you? How is the school doing? Don't forget we always have a position open for you if you ever get tired of teaching. I have two topics that I wish to discuss with you._

_First, it has come to my attention that Harry Potter is now enrolled in Hogwarts. I personally feel that it is for the good of the Great Wizarding Community of Great Britain that Harry begins to learn about the Ministry of Magic. In the eye of the public, it will show that Harry supports our actions._

'Oh Cornelius,' Albus thought. 'Not exactly the most subtle way of telling me of your wanting to control young Harry.' He continued on with the rest of the letter.

_Many other wizarding communities seem to somehow think that we do not think of our people first. The other communities state that we abuse them, but it is all for the community's benefit. It saddens me to say that even some of our own think up these ridiculous ideas. The support for the Ministry is diminishing and we need to act soon. I feel that you would agree with me that not only Great Britain needs to wake up, but the entire world as well. I know that you would agree that if the world saw that the boy who lived supported our actions, the world would soon follow. We, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School would lead these changes. Once the wizarding world sees what we are doing, they will agree as well.._

Suddenly, Albus seemed much more interested in the Minister's handwriting.

_The second part of this letter discusses the search for Merlin. _

_As I have said above, much of the world does not agree with us on many topics. One of the most important being Merlin. We have kept the search secret for millennia but regrettably, we have yet to discover where the great wizard is._

_Other communities have claimed that he has passed on! That he has died! Never to come back again! I say different! Merlin is needed by the wizarding world. Whether it be him, his descendent, or his reincarnation, we must find his personification! Once we find him, the wizarding world shall follow us even more so. Combined with the loyalty of young Harry Potter, none will be able to pursuit in the perfect world we shall create! _

_Albus, I have kept the search secret for many years. As had my predecessor as had his predecessor as had her own. I feel that we should come out into the open regarding the search. We have looked in all the wrong places! We need to come out into the open and show the world that we are right as always! We may be able to check the young witches and wizards in Hogwarts to see if one is really his personification. The world needs Merlin back. And we are his most loyal followers. We, the community of magical Great Britain, have always held onto his traditions and we will bring him home to where he belongs! _

_I do hope to find you well and that you will agree with my wishes._

_Warm Regards,_

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_

(A/N: Ironic how he says that Britain is the last loyal follower of Merlin, when we know a certain couple of masked wizards following old snake face.)

Albus stared at the letter. It contained two very important decisions. One Harry Potter, the other, the search for Merlin. Albus grinned.

'Excellent, the fool is finally seeing that I was right.' He thought. 'Now about Harry, he is loyal to me and me alone. I know that he would never become independent so that is one problem solved. The search for Merlin, that is another story.'

Albus had been searching for the heir for most of his entire life. When he realized that he, himself, was not the heir, something snapped in the old man's brain. Since that day, he vowed to find the true heir and make them loyal to only him. That way, he still would be in control.

Albus then thought of something. Something that had entered his mind almost a month ago. He quickly walked over to a lone cabinet and he opened it up. Inside was a stone basin. Its contents were filled with a misty substance. Behind the bowl, labeled glass tubes filled with white hair sat in storage. Albus spun the storage unit containing the tubes round and round. There were hundreds, thousands, millions maybe. Some contained mist from his own mind. Most however, were ones that he…ugh…borrowed…from other witches and wizards. Soon he found the very exact one he was looking for.

He popped the cork off and poured the contents into the misty liquid of the pensive.

An image began to form from the inky substance formed from the combination of the two. It soon took the shape of a young, boy. Another form blended together at his side. She was a young girl with red hair. They were exiting the bookstore.

Albus lowered his head into the basin and his entire body dissolved into the mist. A second later, he found himself in Diagon Alley. People walked through him as if he were a ghost. But it was the other way around. This version of Diagon Alley was a ghost. A ghost of the past.

Albus Dumbledore then saw…Albus Dumbledore. The second one took no heed to him as he walked on by. The memory Albus's train of thought was interrupted when he bumped into a young boy. The first thing the real Albus noticed when he looked at this ten year old was his magic. Even if it was a memory, he could feel the pulse of magic burst from the boy. No underage wizard could possibly have this kind of power. Heck, he doubted there was any adult wizards containing the amount of magic the boy did. He had black hair and blue-green eyes. Albus gazed at the child's forehead. It was scar less. This boy couldn't be Harry Potter. The girl next to him had to be a Weasley. She had both the red hair and the freckles.

"Sorry sir." the boy apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Memory Albus smiled.

"The fault resides in me as well. My attention was focused upon which pair of socks I would be purchasing at Madame Malkin's." He smiled at the child's confusion.

"Right…well lets go." He and the Weasley girl turned to walk away.

"Wait! Excuse me child but what is your name?"

"Stone." He and the red haired girl walked away. Albus was in confusion. "Stone?" Memory Albus muttered, "I've never heard of the Stones. For this powerful boy to be a member of a family whose name eluded my vast mind? Very mysterious. I will have to look into this." He walked into a side alley and Disapparited away.

The real Albus felt himself shoot into the skies. Another second passed and he flew back into his office. This boy…there was something about him. There were only two things about this boy Albus knew.

One. He had immense power.

Two. His last name was Stone.

That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Albus walked quietly over to a darkened corner of his office. He stopped in front of a lone bookcase. It was the only spot where the other portraits could not see. They had never know about his secret. And they never would. Albus brought out his white, wooden wand. Its tip tapped gently against a series of books in a simple yet complex pattern. Soundlessly, the bookshelf sunk into the floor, revealing a dark chamber. Albus quickly hurried inside and the bookshelf was restored to its original place.

He continued down the corridor. At last he reached it. His secret library. It held info on everyone. And I mean EVERYONE! The millions of iridescent books that graced the warm brown walls all gave off a meaning of power. He, Albus Dumbledore, had knowledge on everyone. He knew things about them that they did not even know. From their five hundred and twenty seventh grandfather, to their favorite food. Only he knew these things. He had been spending years and years, decade after decade, collecting vast knowledge unknown to the world.

What others did not know was that he was not one hundred and fifty years old. No, that was like a mere second to him. He had been alive for so long, his age had almost slipped his grand mind. Almost. But he would never reveal his true age to anyone. He would never speak of it and he would never think of it. No one would ever know.

The truth was, he was very, very old. When he was his true age of twenty, he became very taken with the mere thought of immortality. He was obsessed with it. Living forever. Only expanding his knowledge and power. Thousands of years ago, he had discovered an ancient ritual to stop his body from aging. It was not the true immortality he o so desired, but it was a big step towards it.

For thousands of years he had masquerading as many different identities. Some of the names he was hidden behind were so famous, they would be remembered forever. Some say you only have one life, so you've got to do what you want. Well Albus Dumbledore had one. A very long one. He could not just sit as one person. Being remembered for only one great thing…bleh! To be remembered for so many other things…that was what made him proud. His real name was not even Albus Dumbledore. He had gone through so many names, he could not even remember his real one. Not that it mattered.

He had also had to take some risks. Some of the great accomplishments he had been credited for were actually of other witches and wizards. But he could never let another person take the credit for something that he 'deserved!' He could never let someone else be as powerful as him!

There was a mere thorn in his glorious plan. The wizard known as Lord Voldemort. Thousands would flinch at the mere word. Yet another great accomplishment Albus had created. Some would foolishly say that he and Lord Voldemort were alike. Those people were dead wrong. It was true that both of them wanted to become immortal. He could not deny that. But Voldemort announced it to the entire world. While he, the genius Dumbledore, kept his goals to himself. Voldemort wanted to eliminate the muggles. Saying that they were dirt and did not deserve to live in his world.

Dumbledore agreed.

It wasn't that he had anything against the muggles. No. They just were not worth spending his glorious time and money on. They were ignorant. They would never know that a world existed around them. They were in the dark, and Dumbledore was going to keep it that way, permanently. Unlike Lord Voldemort, he operated behind the scenes. He was the chess master. Life was a chess board. Just when the enemy thinks he's got you, a hidden move played at the right time will defeat everything.

Little did Albus Dumbledore know, that a few of his chess pieces were not going to follow his orders.

HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP HP

**A/N: **So there you have it. The secret of Albus Dumbledore. He has lived for thousands of years, hiding himself behind different identities. He has wiped quite a few minds just to take credit so no one could be as famous as he was. All for fame and glory. Do I sense a connection to Lockhart?

HP

**Thanks to…**

Bottl4 beast1989 Luiz4200 Karen

Professor Chris CaptMacca buddygirl1004 Thawk6

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**Challenges**

**1. Any ideas for more on Dumbledore's back story?**

**2. What will happen next?**

**See you next chapter.**

**SuperXBrother**


	15. The New Marauders

Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been almost a month since the last chapter. But I do need to get my other stories rolling. I have to say this…thank you to everyone who has supported me.

There have been fifty seven thousand views for this story since it started!

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**The New Marauders**

The stars twinkled above as Harry gazed out over the lake. It was really a beautiful sight. He had just come from his meeting with Professor Snape and the two had learned a great deal about each other. He taught Harry many spells that even Ardoris, Soleil, and the Elders did not know about. Of course, Ginny overheard their lessons via Harry's thoughts as well.

He was starting to get a bit tired. It had been a long day of classes, plus he had used a lot more magic practicing for the duel. Everyday, Ron could be seen following him around. He proudly boasted about the duel and his friendship with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. If only there was some way to avoid him…

Harry stared out over the lake. What few knew, was that there was an entire civilization living at the bottom of the lake. They were magical beings called the Merpeople. They were powerful. They were intelligent. But like Goblins, Wizards thought themselves superior to their kind.

Then there was the giant squid. Few knew that it served as a protector of the school. A guardian. Should any invaders come to Hogwarts, the beast would attack. But even fewer knew that the creature did not follow the headmaster. Nor the teachers. Nor even the students. The guardians of Hogwarts followed Hogwarts herself. The school was like a living being. It was so full of magic, that it could sense all that happened within her grounds. The Elders told Harry that even Albus Dumbledore did not know this.

'But if Dumbledore doesn't know about it, who does?'

'Only Hogwarts, and her most trusted friends. Us.' Godric said.

'Speaking of Dumbledore, where is he?' Ginny thought to them.

'What do you mean Ginny?' Harry asked.

'He left the feast really early and no one, not even the teachers. has seen him since.'

'He's probably trying to find yet another way to control me.' Harry thought with a sigh.

'Hey! I have an idea!' Helga said. Harry and Ginny saw her whisper to the others.

'Are you sure that they're ready? Even with their bond, they still are developing their magic. It could severely drain them.' Salazar warned.

'They can handle it Salazar.' Rowena said confidently. 'They are the two most powerful students Hogwarts has ever seen. And it has not even been a full week yet.'

'Okay. If you're sure.' Salazar said uneasily.

'Where are we going?' Ginny asked.

'We will transport you there. No one can no about this. It is critical information. Do you understand me?' Godric asked sternly. They nodded. 'Good.' A swirl of light washed over Harry and he was gone.

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

Harry opened his eyes and found himself inside a circular room. There was a glowing white sphere in the center of the room. Harry knew in an instant that this room was very important. Ginny woke up a second later. She came to the same realization as he did.

'Is…is this…?' Harry began…not really sure what to ask.

'Yes Harry. It is.' Merlin answered his unasked question. 'This is the heart of Hogwarts. Her very soul. None know about this room and it must be kept this way. If that orb was even touched…let alone destroyed…' He trailed off. Harry and Ginny didn't need to read his mind to know exactly what would happen.

'So how is this room going to help us find out what Dumbledore is up to?' Ginny asked.

'This room is the heart of Hogwarts. It is connected to every single part. If you are in here, you know everything that's going on in Hogwarts.' Morgana said. She lifted an arm and walked over to the wall. 'For example…' She touched a stone and a light appeared. Shining inside of it was the Headmaster's Office. And pacing around inside was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

'No way.' They both said together.

'Way.' The elders and the two phoenixes answered together.

They all looked back at the light.

'But wont he be able to see and hear us?' Harry asked.

'It's a one way light Harry.' Godric grinned.

'Brilliant.'

They watched as Albus paced back and forth. His pet Phoenix Fawkes was glaring at him but he took no notice of it. The headmaster sat down at his desk and opened a letter form the ministry. Harry quickly cast a spell that put their eyes inside of Albus's own. They could see what he could see. They could read what he was reading. They could hear exactly what he was thinking. They began reading along side the unsuspecting Albus Dumbledore.

_Dear Albus,_

_Hello my old friend. How are you? How is the school doing? Don't forget we always have a position open for you if you ever get tired of teaching. I have two topics that I wish to discuss with you._

_First, it has come to my attention that Harry Potter is now enrolled in Hogwarts. I personally feel that it is for the good of the Great Wizarding Community of Great Britain that Harry begins to learn about the Ministry of Magic. In the eye of the public, it will show that Harry supports our actions._

_Many other wizarding communities seem to somehow think that we do not think of our people first. The other communities state that we abuse them, but it is all for the community's benefit. It saddens me to say that even some of our own think up these ridiculous ideas. The support for the Ministry is diminishing and we need to act soon. I feel that you would agree with me that not only Great Britain needs to wake up, but the entire world as well. I know that you would agree that if the world saw that the boy who lived supported our actions, the world would soon follow. We, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School would lead these changes. Once the wizarding world sees what we are doing, they will agree as well.._

_The second part of this letter discusses the search for Merlin. _

_As I have said above, much of the world does not agree with us on many topics. One of the most important being Merlin. We have kept the search secret for millennia but regrettably, we have yet to discover where the great wizard is._ _Other communities have claimed that he has passed on! That he has died! Never to come back again! I say different! Merlin is needed by the wizarding world. Whether it be him, his descendent, or his reincarnation, we must find his personification! Once we find him, the wizarding world shall follow us even more so. Combined with the loyalty of young Harry Potter, none will be able to pursuit in the perfect world we shall create! _

_Albus, I have kept the search secret for many years. As had my predecessor as had his predecessor as had her own. I feel that we should come out into the open regarding the search. We have looked in all the wrong places! We need to come out into the open and show the world that we are right as always! We may be able to check the young witches and wizards in Hogwarts to see if one is really his personification. The world needs Merlin back. And we are his most loyal followers. We, the community of magical Great Britain, have always held onto his traditions and we will bring him home to where he belongs! _

_I do hope to find you well and that you will agree with my wishes._

_Warm Regards,_

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_

Albus sighed and stood up. Harry's and Ginny's eyes returned to their own heads.

'So, the ministry's going to come out in the open about the Search for me.' Merlin said, rolling his eyes.

'Yeah. Looks like it. Man are they stupid.' Ginny said.

'Are they ever going to do something that actually makes sense for once?' Harry asked.

'Come on Harry. We all know the answer to that one.' Godric laughed.

'Everyone. This is serious! We need to think about how we are to deal with this. We cant afford to slip up.' Rowena said sternly.

'She's right. We need to plan out our strategy. We could use this search to our advantage. First thing's first. We need to lower your magical sense. It's way too high even without your bond. Even those government fools will recognize something if they search you.' Salazar said.

'What's the spell?' Ginny asked.

'It's so easy, a ministry employee could perform it. Just touch your temple and say _Magicstics Dividiuos._

"Are you sure that they could do it? This is the Ministry don't forget.' Harry said. He and Ginny touched their temples and said together,

'_Magicstics Dividiuos._' A bright light, almost like a supernova, erupted around them. It began to dim down. After a full minute, it looked like the light from a _Lumos._

'You're getting even more powerful. We definitely will need to step up your training. 'You're still mortal, don't forget.' Helga reminded them.

'We may be mortal, but so is Professor Dumbledore.' Harry said.

'Maybe.' Merlin said quietly.

'Hey look!' Rowena said suddenly. They all looked back. Albus had just came out of the Pensieve. Harry used a zooming charm to read the words on the vial he was holding. There, in his curly writing, was the word, Stone.

'Looks like Dumbledore is trying to figure out who Stone is.' Harry thought worried.

'Do not fear Harry. There is no record whatsoever about the Stone family. The only info about a family called that is inside Vault X at Gringotts…well there is a muggle family in Vegas with that name…but I highly doubt Albus will figure that out. Point is, you're safe.'

'Looks like Dumbles has more than his fair share of secrets.' Helga said. Dumbledore then slipped inside a hidden door behind a lone bookcase. The office, save Fawkes, was empty.

'Oh dear,' Morgana said in a baby voice. 'Mean old Dummydore thinks we can't find him.' She walked over to another brick and pushed it. Yet another beam of light appeared. They all gathered around that one. 'That's better.' She smirked.

Professor Dumbledore was inside a huge library full of secret reports, files, and books. There was stuff inside that if the Unspeakables down at the Ministry found out and told anyone about, they would…in a muggle translation, find themselves babbling away in a straight jacket locked in a rubber room for the rest of their lives.

In short, there was a lot of secret stuff in there that Harry and Ginny would never forget.

Albus began searching vigorously. Book after book. File after file. Page after page. Finally after two hours of searching, he roared in rage.

Everyone who had fallen asleep, jumped at the screams.

Harry, the only one who had not fallen asleep, smirked, 'Well, I'm guessing he didn't find anything.'

'Yeah.' Ginny said, rubbing ear ears. 'Definitely sounds like it.' They all laughed.

Then Albus began muttering to himself. They all quieted and listened.

"I will find out who Stone is later. There is just one other mere thorn in my glorious plan. That idiot of a wizard, Lord Voldemort. Thousands flinch at the mere word. Yet another great accomplishment I have created. Some would foolishly say that I and Lord Voldemort are alike. Those people were dead wrong. It was true that we both seek to become immortal. I cannot deny that. But Voldemort announced it to the entire world. While I, the genius Dumbledore, keep my goals to myself."

Godric snorted. 'Yeah. Boasting your secrets out loud. Real smart of you Albus.' The headmaster did not hear the founder's sarcasm and continued on.

"-to eliminate the muggles. Saying that they were dirt and did not deserve to live in his world. I agree.

It is not that I hold anything against the muggles. No. They just were not worth spending my glorious time and money on. They were ignorant. They would never know that a world existed around them. They were in the dark, and I will continue to keep it that way, permanently. Unlike Lord Voldemort, I operate behind the scenes. I am the chess master, controlling the a chess board. Just when the enemy thinks he's got me, I play a hidden move that will defeat everything."

'Maybe it would be better if he didn't announce his strategy to the entire world?' Ginny suggested.

Dumbledore left the secret room and retired to his chambers.

'Well…I do believe it's half past midnight.' Helga said with a yawn.

'Man…I'm so tired, I never even felt sleepy.' Godric muttered.

'Can you just teleport us to bed?' Harry asked. 'I'm not sure if I can make it.'

They chuckled. 'Sure Harry. Night you two.' Rowena said.

'Night.'

The room spun again. Harry and Ginny didn't even open their eyes. They had fallen asleep halfway through the teleportation.

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The next day, the school was abuzz. Harry and Ginny rolled their eyes every time someone ran up to them, talking about the duel. Oh yeah…forgot to mention…that's going to commence tonight.

'You'd think they'd realize we don't really care about the duel.' Harry said annoyed. 'That's number fifty two, and its only been fifteen minutes into the school day.

'I know. We're more than ready though. Ron has no clue about magic. He's still convinced his wand will notice he's your best friend and will do all the fancy footwork for him.' Ginny said confidently.

'He'll think he's going to become Minister if this keeps up.' He joked.

'Don't say that. The world's already going downhill. If Ron became minister…" Ginny shuddered. Harry laughed.

'Don't forget, we've got the…project…to do. We're going to work on it over Lunch.'

'Right.' Harry and Ginny then went to Transfiguration ten minutes early and were able to transform a tea kettle into a soda can by the time class began.

Professor McGonagal sighed and began the lesson.

"Today…we will be transfiguring matches into needles again…"

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After yet another agonizing lecture about Goblin uprisings from Profeesor Binns, Lunch had finally arrived. Harry and Ginny slowed down their pace and were in the back of the Lunch rush. The crowd got further and further away. The two rounded a corner.

"We've got to get up there now! Isn't there a shortcut or anything!" Ginny asked quickly.

"Let me think for a second. Harry leaned against the wall, which surprisingly, opened up. Ginny helped him up, and they looked back at the wall, or rather, what was once the wall.

Now sat a beautifully cut arch. Ginny looked inside and found that it revealed a tall spiral staircase leading all the way up to the seventh floor.

"Harry…"

"Ginny…we found a secret passage."

"What exactly did you do? We need to know the process completely."

Harry reenacted what he had done previously, minus the fall. After two minutes, he found a brick that had a grove cut into it on the underside.

"Found it!" Harry pulled the brick back into place." Responding in sync, the arch reformed back into a wall. "Okay…let's see…"

He pressed his hand on the third brick down from the bottom left corner of the painting of Welder the Wacko and his talking chicken Barry.

"This is it! Welder the Wacko. Third brick from the bottom left!"

"Good. Now let's hurry! It should lead us to the seventh floor." They rushed up the stairs, the stones rearranging themselves back to normal far, far below them.

After five exhausting minutes of climbing, they finally reached the top.

"You'd think…they'd…put in an….escalator." Harry huffed.

"Or an elevator." Ginny puffed.

'Hey! We didn't have that kind of technology back then!' Rowena complained.

They rolled their eyes and walked over to a blank stretch of wall.

"'Kay. Fred and George said we just need to walk past here three times, focusing on what we need."

"Got it."

Once they passed.

Twice they passed.

Three times they passed.

When they turned around, there sat a small iron door. They smiled at each other and walked inside.

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Inside they found a small common room full of plush seats. Fred, George, and the pink haired Nym…(she gives me the evil eye)…err…Tonks sitting down.

Tonks muttered, "That's better. I was about to turn him into a rat."

"Change who into a rat Tonks? Ginny asked as she and Harry sat down.

"No one! No one at all! (Tonks turns and glares at the screen. She points at it, runs a finger across her throat, and makes a hacking noise.)

The others stared at her.

"O…kay then. Our first official meeting comes to order." Fred/George says.

The other twin, George/Fred, got out a very old, blank sheet of parchment. He then said, "Harry, Ginny, this is the key to our success. Nothing we reveal goes out of this room. Got it?" They nodded. "Good. Now pay close attention." Her brought out his wand, tapped it onto the sheet, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

In an instant, lines arranged themselves into patterns. Sketches of various things were etched onto the paper. Shapes crisscrossed into each other and fanned into every single inch and corner. On it's cover, written in curly green ink, were the words,

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

Are proud to present

**The Marauder's Map **

It was a map showing every last detail of Hogwarts. Tiny dots shaped like feet moved around on it, each assigned to a name written in minuscule words.

Dumbledore was eating away in the great hall. Filch was skulking around on the fifth floor. Peeves was bouncing around in the trophy room.

"This is incredible!" Harry exclaimed.

"Where did you get it?" Ginny asked.

"Well…when we were in our first year…young and innocent-" Harry, Ginny, and Tonks cracked up.

"-more innocent than we are now-we got into a bit of trouble with Filch."

"He started threatening us with the usual-"

"Detention-"

"Expulsion-"

"Dismemberment-"

"and we couldn't help but notice a locked cabinet marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous…"_

"You didn't." Ginny and Harry said together…grinning.

"We did." The twins finished. Harry and Ginny looked back at the map.

It also showed various passages, paths, and shortcuts. They noticed that the one the just took wasn't drawn onto it. When Ginny told her brothers, they were ecstatic.

"Our little sister-"

"our own flesh and blood-"

"found a secret passage in her first week!"

"That is a few days sooner than we-"

"found our first one and-"

"it was on the map!"

They hugged her tight until Tonks couched loudly. Looking embarrassed, the twins continued.

"Um…right. Now then…we need to become official members of the Marauders." The twin on the left started.

The twin on the right tapped his wand onto the parchment. New words began writing themselves.

In order to become a Marauder, thou must simply state your new name and animagus form to the parchment. Remember once you become a Marauder, there will be no turning back.

George said," Harry, since your Dad was Prongs, I think we can all agree that you should do it first." He held up a small potion. Harry took it and looked at Ginny. She nodded encouragingly.

"You sure about this?" He asked the twins. They gave him mischievous smiles.

"Come on Harry. What possible reason could you have for not trusting us?" They asked together.

That didn't exactly reassure him. He held the cup to his lips and gulped downed the potion.

The room began spinning and all he saw was black.

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Albus watched as the students finished their meals and began to walk out to enjoy their break. He had not seen Harry amongst any of them. Where could that boy be?

He sighed as the last students left. The professors and a few ministry people began to create the dueling field.

Cornelius Oswald Fudge walked confidently over to the headmaster.

"Ah! Albus! There you are! Such a great event to happen right?"

"Yes…fantastic."

"So did you receive my owl?"

"Yes I did."

"And?" He edged on.

"I agree to the second part of your letter."

"Why ever not the first half?"

"I am not rejecting it…I am just merely suggesting it be put on hold…for now. Young Harry has not even had a week into school yet. I highly doubt he is ready to discuss politics."

"I suppose you are right."

"The second pat of your letter I agree with completely. The search must yield results. We must find him…otherwise…we will all be in the dark. What are your ideas for bringing the search out into the open?"

"I was hoping to announce it at the conclusion of tonight's duel."

"I feel that will be satisfactory. Now I do suggest that you have a word with young Harry in private as well."

"True. Very true. I must have a word with the boy. Where is he?"

"I'm afraid that I do not know. Perhaps you will find him later in the evening hours."

"Perhaps. Well…I am off to my room. I may be on vacation…but I still have thirty papers to sign this hour." The minister walked off.

'Tonight will be very interesting indeed.' Flitwick thought as he overheard the conversation between the two.

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Harry was climbing up a tall mountain. The clouds looked like ants from up here. There was a swirl of golden energy surrounding the peak. He was so close. He could not give up. He continued to climb…higher and higher. Then…he saw it. It was a black majestic creature with emeralds for eyes and gold tips on its tail and mane. Oh how it was so graceful as it took to the skies. It let out a cry that could be heard around the world. It landed on top a rock and started straight into Harry's eyes just as he stared straight into its own. Those eyes were his own. It was like looking into a mirror.

The mountain started to spin and Harry saw the black darkness of his mind once again.

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"How long is he going to be out?" Ginny asked.

"Could take anywhere from five minutes to a hour." Tonks replied. "Relax Ginny. He'll be okay. Fred and George would never mess this potion up. It's way too important to them."

She held up another vial. "And now it's your turn Ginny." Ginny took it and fell into the same darkness Harry did. Tonks gave a vial to Fred and George and they too passed out. She took the last one and collapsed as well.

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Tonks found herself in a deep dense jungle. There was nothing but silence. The trees went on forever and ever. There was no way out. She felt like everything was watching her. Studying her every move. Oh how she wanted to disappear. To vanish and control who could see her.

She turned around and found herself face to face with her animagus form. 'Well…I was asking for it.' She thought as she fell into the blackness.

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Fred and George did everything together. And that included sharing their animagus dream.

"Oh no…don't tell me you're my animagus form. That's be such a disappointment."

"My thoughts exactly my dear brother."

The scenery around them turned into a antique store. Fine china. Old, rare collectible baseball cards. Everything.

"Oh no…don't tell me we're bulls in a china shop." Fred groaned.

"I don't think so. I don't see any bulls any-"

CRASH!

They turned around. There were a couple of broken dishes on the floor.

"I'm liking where this is going." Forge said.

"As am I." said Gred. He saw two small blurs race by him and his brother. More and more things broke to pieces. Ripped, shredded, torn, crushed. Everything. The shop was a complete mess. The two blurs stopped their reign of chaos to let their human forms look at them.

"Okay…this just got interesting." They said together.

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Tonks, Fred, and George all woke up soon after. Ginny and Harry were still knocked out.

"What are you?" They asked Tonks.

"We should wait until Harry and Ginny wake up. Then we can all tell each other, rather than just keep repeating over and over and over again."

"Fine." They fake pouted.

Ten minutes passed. Still no signs of waking up.

Twenty minutes passed. Still nothing.

Forty minutes. Again, still nothing.

An hour passed since they woke up.

"What is wrong with them?" It's been over a hour! They should've been up by now! It's an hour for an animagus potion!"

"Maybe…" Fred said quietly.

"Maybe what?" Tonks said.

"Maybe they have more than one animagus." George finished for his twin.

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Down in the Great Hall, the dueling stage had just been finished.

"Just two more hours until the duel Professors." A ministry employee said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Good. Now get prepared to gather the students."

The man hurried off. Dumbledore gazed at the clock. The boy should have just finished Potions, but he had not yet arrived in the Great Hall to prepare. Mr. Weasley was fast asleep up in his room as well.

'Harry…where are you?' The headmaster thought intently.

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Harry and Ginny both woke up at the exact same time. They were gasping for breathe, for they could not believe their very own eyes.

"Harry! Ginny!" Tonks yelled. "Fred! George! They're awake!"

"How are you guys feeling?" George asked, helping the two up.

"Tired." They said together.

"No surprise. You've been out of it for a couple of hourse. The duel is in one hour to be exact." Fred informed them.

"So what are your forms?" Ginny asked.

Tonks closed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm a chameleon." She was ready for them to laugh at her. They didn't.

"That's great Tonks. Probably cause of your Metamorphagus powers. You can hide in plain sight. That could be really useful!" Fred said happily.

"And so…I am afraid to ask this…but…what are you two?" Tonks said. The twins looked at each other and grinned. One waved their wand and a song came out of it. A Disney song from the movie, The Lady and The Tramp. The twins began to sing.

"We are Siamese if you please." Da dum dum dum.

"We are Siamese if you don't please." Da dum dum dum

"Now we looking over our new domicile." Da dum dum dum

"If we like we stay for maybe quite a while." Da dum dum dum.

"Oh great. They're going to even more destructive than the cats in the movie!" Tonks said with a grin.

"You got it" They said together. Then the three looked at Harry and Ginny.

"So…what are you?"

"Um..well…you see…"

"We kinda have more than one form."

"Really? Great! How many do you have?"

"Er…seven? Ginny nodded.

"I have seven too."

"SEVEN!" The other three shouted at once!

"Wow! And you Ginny?"

"Same here!"

"Weird."

"Okay so now we tell them our form or forms and one special thing about us and they will give us our name." Fred said.

"I have seven forms. My main one is a Phoenix, I'm also a Griffin, an Owl, a Unicorn, a Basilisk, a Sea Serpent, and a Dragon. I guess my feature is my scar."

"You shall be known as Bolt." Ginny stepped forward.

I have the same forms as Harry. I'm not sure…I did set the house on fire when I was five."

"Remind me to never take away your favorite toy broomstick again. George said.

"You shall be known as Wildfire." Fred spoke next.

"I am a Siamese cat and my twin George is too. We both love pranking and causing mischief."

"You shall be Mischief and your twin shall be Maniac." Tonks spoke.

"I'm a chameleon. I'm also a Metamorphagus."

"You shall be called Anonymous."

The parchment now read,

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

And

New Messrs. Bolt, Wildfire, Mischief, Maniac, and Anonymous

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

Are proud to present

**The Marauder's Map **

"And now, we are true Marauders!" Fred said happily.

"We need a huge prank to announce this to Hogwarts." George said.

"I've got the perfect idea!" Just let me call up Gringotts. This will be a tribute the original Marauders.

"Gringotts? What sort of prank could you possibly have in mind Harry?" Fred asked.

"You'll see." Harry said simply.

"The duel's in thirty minutes." Tonks reminded him.

They all tapped their wands against the map. And together they said,

"Mischief managed."

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**Hey everyone! Epic chapter. I rewrote it four times. Bit of breaking the fourth wall with Tonks for a minute there. **

**Thanks To…**

**Comet Jim Miss Millie izzysunflower Ginny9272**

**Omeganian Luiz4200 VampiresandHorses4ev3r Ginastar**

**Musicisbetterloud Rio47 Madmax1960 pokemon-hogworts4eva**

**godofall**

**Bragging Rights go to…**

**WaffleGirlIsAwesome432-ch. 12-Tonks Form**

**Benperez-Ch. 12- Tonks Form**

**Puppy Prongs-Ch.12- Multiple forms**

**JennaHanna-Ch. 11-Mischief, Maniac**

**CaptMacca-Ch. 11- Tonks form. Twins red fur.**

**Dreams Whisper-Ch. 11-Tonks Form**

**Comet Jim-Ch. 11- Wildfire, Anonymous, Tonks Form, Twins' Forms.**

**CHALLENGES…**

**1. What will happen during the duel?**

**2. What will Harry's prank be?**

**See you next chapter**

**SuperXBrother**


	16. The Duel

Well guys, here it is. Chapter sixteen. It is time for the duel. And thanks you all. This story almost has Sixty Five Thousand Views! Thank you all so much!

And now, the time has come. The duel between Harry and Ginny and Ron and Dean has finally arrived. Enjoy!

_Previously…_

_"I have seven forms. My main one is a Phoenix, I'm also a Griffin, an Owl, a Unicorn, a Basilisk, a Sea Serpent, and a Dragon. I guess my feature is my scar."_

_"You shall be known as Bolt." Ginny stepped forward._

_I have the same forms as Harry. I'm not sure…I did set the house on fire when I was five."_

_"Remind me to never take away your favorite toy broomstick again. George said._

_"You shall be known as Wildfire." Fred spoke next._

_"I am a Siamese cat and my twin George is too. We both love pranking and causing mischief."_

_"You shall be Mischief and your twin shall be Maniac." Tonks spoke._

_"I'm a chameleon. I'm also a Metamorphagus."_

_"You shall be called Anonymous."_

_The parchment now read,_

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_

_And_

_New Messrs. Bolt, Wildfire, Mischief, Maniac, and Anonymous_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

_Are proud to present_

_**The Marauder's Map **_

_"And now, we are true Marauders!" Fred said happily._

_"We need a huge prank to announce this to Hogwarts." George said._

_"I've got the perfect idea!" Just let me call up Gringotts. This will be a tribute the original Marauders._

_"Gringotts? What sort of prank could you possibly have in mind Harry?" Fred asked._

_"You'll see." Harry said simply._

_"The duel's in thirty minutes." Tonks reminded him._

_They all tapped their wands against the map. And together they said,_

_"Mischief managed."_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Duel**

Harry walked out of the room for a minute.

"Let's go, overhear what he's up too." Fred said.

"Let's." Said George. They made their way to the door, it was locked.

"Harry's a bit too smart for you two." Tonks said.

"But he forgot about Alohamora!" They said loudly. One second later, a golden glow surrounded the door. A second later, it was gone. Tonks and Ginny laughed.

"Probably shouldn't of said that out loud." George said.

"Indeed dear brother." Fred replied.

"Like Tonks said, Harry's too smart for you two." Ginny laughed.

A few minutes later, the door unlocked and Harry walked in.

"It'll all be ready once the duel is over!" Harry said, a mischievous grin on his face. Ginny tried to read his mind, but he wasn't going to reveal anything.

They all walked out of the room of requirement. Fred/George opened the map and checked it.

"No one's on this floor. Peeves is two down so he can't bust us. Okay you two. Show us the passageway." Harry and Ginny nodded. The duel was very soon. They didn't have the time to wait for the staircases to change positions, eventually revealing a path. Their Animagus potion had taken up almost the entire afternoon. Harry and Ginny stopped at the entrance and Harry pulled the brick. The door slid open silently.

"Okay. Let me cast something. It'll get us down there in no time at all." Tonks said. She waved her wand. "_Stairitus Slidillius_." The stairs all slanted down. In another second, they all had a very steep, very fast slide going straight down to the ground floor.

"Nice one Anonymous." Ginny said. Tonks looked at her, grinned, and jumped straight into the slide.

"See you slowpokes at the bottom!" Her voice echoed.

"Oh yeah! Fred/George and his twin George/Fred shouted. One jumped in quickly followed by the other.

Harry and Ginny grinned at each other.

"At least we'll be able to tell them apart when they use their Marauder names."

"Harry, Fred and George share everything together. Their rooms, their clothes, their names! What makes you think they wont switch being Mischief and Maniac?"

"True. Very true."

"Ready?"

"To slide down or win the duel?" Harry asked innocently. Ginny lightly punched his arm.

"Both you prat! See you at the bottom! In an instant, she was gone. Harry climbed into the slide right after her.

It was a longer journey than he thought it would be. Even being this steep, that staircase went to one of the highest points in Hogwarts. And Hogwarts was a tall, tall castle. Not to mention the fact that the staircase was very sharp in its spiral climb. So naturally, he was pushed straight against the wall. He was going faster. Faster and faster. Straight into even blacker darkness. The end would never come. He'd be on this crazy ride for the rest of his life.

The next thing he knew, he was tumbling out onto a long straightaway. He looked up and saw the others grinning.

"That was brilliant Tonks!" Harry said as he climbed out. "Just put some water there and we have the world's greatest waterslide!"

"Great idea." Tonks waved her wand and said _Aguamenti_! Sure enough a waterfall erupted into a new landing pool."

"Definitely going to try that tomorrow." Mischief/Maniac said.

"Well, Harry, Ginny, it's time. You ready?" Harry and Ginny looked at each other.

They turned towards Tonks and together, they said, "Bring it!"

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The Great Hall was completely packed. Not just of students, but of teachers, ministry employees, and anyone who could squeeze inside for a glimpse of the Boy Who Lived.

The only spot that wasn't filled was the dueling platform. Albus and the Minister of Magic stared intently for Harry. The duel was in ten minutes! Then suddenly, the screams started getting louder. Harry had obviously just entered. Albus was mad. Harry should have been waiting with him. He should not be adored like that from all those people. He, Albus Dumbledore, was those most important! Not little Harry Potter!

But, much to chagrin, Harry was surrounded by screaming fans.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of being swarmed, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, and Tonks had all somehow managed to push their way towards the dueling platform. Filius Flitwick, a dueling master, was to judge the duel. He looked at the two opponents. Harry and Ginny were discussing tactics with each other, while Ronald and Dean were trying to get the crowds' attention. Trash talking about Ginny. You know, their usual antics.

Albus and the Minister walked over to their seats at the judges table.

Filius sighed. Harry and Ginny were both prepared for this duel. He had seen them in the library studying dueling tactics. Ronald on the other hand, had burst into his office yesterday, demanding dueling lessons. He was actually surprised Ron had opened a book to find out who had experience at dueling in Hogwarts. When he had kindly said that he would not help either side of the duel, Ron tried to slip him two knuts. Saying that if he and Dean won the duel, the professor could keep the money. But if Harry and the %$ of a sister won, Ron would come back to collect his money.

'How stupid is the boy?' He thought to himself. Trying to win the judge over with two knuts? He would never have even accepted the money, but he thought the boy needed a wake up call. He actually thought Filius was on his side and was going to throw the duel his way.

'Well…the poor boy's sadly mistaken.' He thought as he prepared to speak to the crowd.

"Welcome! Welcome every single one of you! To Hogwarts, Three hundred and forty seventh, student Wizard Duel."

The crowd cheered and Filius sighed. The last duel that was held here, no one even showed up to. No one cared much for the students' activities anymore. It was only the fact that Harry Potter was interested in dueling that caused such a fascination amongst the audience.

"Now then, here are the rules to the duel. Three points are needed to win. Each side will have one opponent duel one on the other team. When your opponent is unable to duel, your team will be awarded a point. If each team has two points total at the end, we will have a final round where both people on each side will duel. There are no magical objects allowed. Just wands. Any misbehaving will result in an automatic point give to the other team. Any lethal or dark spell will result in severe punishment. Does either side have any questions?" Harry and Ginny shook their heads.

Ron raised his hand.

"Yes Ronald?"

"What are we supposed to do again?" He asked. Filius slapped his hand on his face and sighed. Once again, Ronald was not paying attention. He spoke the rules again.

"And now, both Ginny and Ronald will step onto the platform." The both did. Ginny took her stance and Filius almost shrieked in joy. That stance hadn't been used in hundreds of years! Few even knew that taking a stance was best to start a duel. Let alone know one.

Ron stood straight. Filius sighed. His wand raised.

"When you see the green sparks, the duel begins." He said. Red sparks shot out of his wand and Ron shouted, "_Colorosa_!" A slow, white ball shot out of his wand. It floated halfway across the platform and fell to the ground. A small part of the dueling stage turned from a blue to a blob of ugly red.

"And…false start. One point awarded to Harry and Ginny."

"WHAT?" Ron bellowed.

"Mr. Weasley, I said that any misbehaving would result in the other team getting a point. You cast a spell before the duel began. A very poorly executed one at that."

"I didn't misbehave! I just shot a spell after you shot the sparks."

"Mr. Weasley, what color were the sparks?"

"Why are you asking that? You cast the sparks? Didn't you? Are you sure you're a professor?"

"Yes Mr. Wealsey. I am sure that I am a professor. And I said green sparks. Next time, pay attention."

"Fine!"

"Now on the _**GREEN**_ sparks!" The professor stressed the color. He walked over to the judges table and raised the wand once more. Red sparks. Red sparks. Green!"

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Meanwhile, over at the judges table, we find Albus and Cornelius talking. Filius had gone closer so he could watch the match.

"I'm sorry to say this Albus, but you may need to find a new charms teacher. This one is much too strict."

"Quite." Albus agreed. Minervra, who had overheard their talk, came over.

"What are you talking about?" Minerva asked annoyed. "Filius said wait until the green sparks. Mr. Wealsey is not colorblind and should have paid attention. Miss Weasley is lucky that her brother is very poorly skilled in magic. That horrible color spell, although his best try, could have been something worse."

"Minevra, still Filius is being a bit biased." Albus said simply.

"Had both YOU AND MR. WEASLEY been paying attention, Filius said that any misbehaving would give the other team a point. Mr. Weasley was not paying attention, therefore, the other team received a point."

"Yes but still…" the Minister continued. Minerva sighed and rolled her eyes. Nothing she said could get through these numbskulls' thick heads.

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Ginny quickly cast a Muddy charm on the section where Ron was standing. He slipped before he even had a chance to figure out what was happening.

"Why you little-" (I'm going to cut short at these parts. There are younger readers out there and Ron has a…um…colorful vocabulary)

"_Wingardium Leviosa_." Ginny said quietly. Ron floated up about five feet. Ginny stopped the charm and he fell back onto the stage. Ron's eyes were shut.

Filius talked with the judges.

"Do you all agree he is unable to move?"

"No I think that Mr. Weasley will be getting up." Albus said confidently.

"How can you be sure Albus?"

"Just a feeling."

What the other two didn't notice was Albus waving his wand under the table, its tip pointed right at none other, than Mr. Weasley.

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

Ginny stood, waiting to see what the judges' verdict was. Suddenly, Ron jumped straight up about five feet. Giiny was shocked. Ron hated exercise. He would always groan and moan when he was getting up after lying down. So how was he able to do that?

Ron pointed his wand straight at Ginny. He shouted, "_Diffendo_!" Ginny dodged but the spell marked its target. Her leg had a large gash in it.

'Ginny! Are you okay?' Harry screamed his thoughts to her.

'I…I'm fine. But my leg feels like crap. Since when can Ron actually do a spell correctly? Let alone one that is powerful?'

'I don't know. Something's wrong here. I think someone might have given Ron an edge just now.' Harry suggested.

'Yeah. He was being completely stupid until just now. Someone's helping him win this stupid duel!'

'We need to be careful. We don't know who it is. And this crowd is huge! It could be anyone of them!'

'Let me try and get up.' Ginny groaned. She screamed in pain and collapsed back down.

Filius Flitwick ran over to her. He helped her over to Madame Pomfrey who was there to help the students after each round while their partners dueled. She mumbled something dark. When he saw the nurse begin to mend the gash he yelled at Ron.

"I said non lethal!"

"She's not dead!" Ron fired back. Filius cursed. Unfortunately, Ronald was right. But if that wound was not fixed soon…Something was up. Ron cast a poorly done Color changing spell and two minutes later he casts a powerful cutting charm? One that he isn't supposed to learn until second year? He wasn't surprised Ginny could cast the levitation charm. He had told her and Harry about it way before the duel was even discussed.

He peered around. Someone had just influenced the duel. He walked back to the judges table.

"Well, Ronald has earned the point." Albus said happily. Too happily Filius noted.

"Yes." Filius sighed. "Ginny is unable to continue."

"Agreed." The minister said. Filius knew he was only here to talk with Harry and make a public appearance.

'Ginny!' Harry thought over to her. 'Are you okay?'

'I…I'm sorry Harry.'

'Don't worry Ginny. I'm up against Dean. He's only a bit better at magic than Ron is.' Ginny nodded.

'I'm going to keep a lookout. I'll try and figure out who is doing this.'

'Madame Pomfrey will fix you right up.'

'I know. I just hope whoever's doing this wont harm you too.'

'Let's find out.'

Harry walked up to the dueling platform. He took the same position Ginny did. Dean, just thirteen I.Q. points smarter than Ron, stood there, the same as his predecessor. He had seen the spell work Harry had done in class. He knew what Harry Potter was capable of. He too, was arrogant like Ron. He was not going to lose.

"Let the second round begin." Filius said with a spark of green light.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Harry shouted. At once, Dean's wand shot right out of his hand. He looked at Harry in confusion.

"Wha-"

"_Stumpefy_!" A yellow beam shot out of the Holly wand's tip. Dean ducked and made a lunge for his fallen wand. He managed to grab it and shot a few sparks at Harry. They died out in midair, two feet from the end of Dean's wand.

"No fair!" Dean complained. He ran straight toward Harry, his closed fist raised high.

'Remember what I taught you boy!' Godric thought. Harry's mind flashed back to the times where he had trained with Godric. The wizard of Gryffindor had taught him about their being two kinds of dueling. Magical and Physical. He taught Harry about both, saying that he would need both in life. He had even made him keep his eyes shut as he threw punches at him. After a time, Harry was able to dodge every single punch.

Harry came back to the present and shut his eyes. Dean thought he was scared and was bracing himself for impact. Dean flew straight at him . His arm held back, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

Harry, even with his eyes shut, could see Dean coming at him. He felt every footstep. Heard each decimal of his screams of rage. Saw the fist just one foot away from his face. He remembered this exact situation Godric put him in. But Dean's tactics were highly flawed. He was not building the energy needed to deliver a final blow. Yet still, Harry did what he was taught.

He ducked down. He could hear Dean's fist soared over his hair. Harry spun his right leg round. He felt his left leg slam into Dean's chest to hold him still. His other foot caught Dean's leg, and sent the boy tumbling, he was already horribly off-balance.

Harry opened his eyes. Dean was knocked out, he had fallen right off the stage from Harry's move.

He saw Flitwick speak with Dumbledore and Fudge.

"Harry is declared to be the winner of this round. He and Ginny have two points while, Ron and Dean hold only one. Should Ginny win this match, she and Harry win!"

'Don't worry.' He heard Ginny shout in her mind. 'I will.'

'How's your leg?'

'Good as new. Thank Merlin for Madame Pomfrey.'

'Don't murder him Ginny.' Harry thought. 'Your mother looks pissed already. Ginny turned to the crowd. Sure enough, she saw two red heads sticking out. One of their faces showed complete rage.

'I'll try to resist the urge. Oh…this is not going to be good once mum gets to me.'

'I know the minister's going to want to talk with me too. How about you stick with me for that, and I'll stick with you when your mom comes charging over.'

'Deal. But don't say I didn't warn you.' Ginny said as they passed.

'By the way, did you figure out who was messing with the duel?'

'Yes. I think it was Dumbledore. He was staring at Ron during our duel.'

'Why didn't he curse Dean then?'

'Cause then he'd have a bunch of pissed off people. Dean would be forever hated for attacking the boy who lived.'

'Good point.'

"Oh come on!" Ron shouted. "I've got to face her again? I'll beat her easily again! Why cant I face Harry? It would be an actual challenge then."

"You're pretty smug. Ginny was kicking your ass right up until the end.'

'That was just luck! I'm way better than Ginny anyway. Besides, I'm the one who's supposed to be Harry's best friend! Not Ginny."

"You are wishing to break the dueling rules?" Filius said.

"Yeah! Let's just skip to the doubles! I'm way more than enough to win!" He raised his wand again.

"Ron!" Ginny yelled. Do you really want to give us another pint because you're too stupid to listen?"

"Let's just duel already!" He and Dean waved their wands. They both shouted "_Stupefy_!" Greenish yellow drips fell to the ground. They cursed their stupid wands and tried again.

'They don't even know what it does! They just said what I did!' Harry laughed in his head. Filius was about to shout for them to stop when Ginny said,

"Professor, let them act like immature brats. They've already lost this duel. Filius looked at the scoreboard he had conjured up to tally points. It read,

Ginny Weasley Harry Potter Ronald Weasley Dean Thomas

36 1

"Wow." was all Flitwick could manage to say. In less than ten seconds, Ron and Dean had given Harry and Ginny an extra thirty four points. And that total was still rising.

"So, as you can see Professor, Ronald cannot follow the rules. " Ginny said.

Then, Ron and Dean stiffened up. Whoever had done their magic on Ron was now doing it on Dean as well. They both simultaneously cast a powerful "_Stupefy"_, both aimed straight at her! They were way too fast, but Harry quickly thought, _'Protego_!'_. _An invisible shield surrounded her and Ginny. No one knew what had happened. The bright yellow beams dispersed immediately. They shot straight back at Ron.

He pulled out a small, round object. He tapped it and it grew into a full shield! The stupefies slammed into it but they left not a single scratch. It was a magical shield. A magical object that Flitwick had prohibited.

"Drop your shield and wands. You have gone far enough!" Flitwick shouted.

"No way." Ron shouted. _"Steleus!" _The sneezing spell shot straight towards them but like the stunning spell, it rebounded right back at Ron. He ducked, and Dean had just barely gotten hit. He started sneezing violently.

"Grr…_Colloshoo_!" Ectoplasm burst out of Ron's wand and spread all over the floor of Harry and Ginny's half of the stage. Their feet were glued to the floor.

Ginny pointed her wand to the mucus and said, _"Skurge." _She and Harry saw Ron's eyes blazing. His skin matched his hair.

"SERPENSORTIA!" He screamed. A huge, black cobra slithered out of his wand. Harry and Ginny knew exactly what he, and also the person influencing him, was up to. They were trying to reveal that Harry was a Parselmouth. Ron smirked as he watched Harry and Ginny stare at the snake. It slowly slithered over to them.

"_Alartae Ascendare." _Harry and Ginny said together. The snake flew high and landed a few feet back, right on top of Ron and Dean.

They were screaming up the Grand Staircase one second later. Ginny silently sent an invisible Bat Bogey hex up the stairs after them. Harry used a levitation charm on the snake, sent it through the windows where the owls entered, and sent if off into the Forbidden Forest.

The crowd was silent. Then Flitwick came up to the stage.

"Ron and Dean have forfeited the duel. The winners with seventy two points are, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!" The crowd went nuts. Some even jumped onto the stage to try and shake hands with Harry. They were unsuccessful because he and Ginny cast a Wingardium Leviosa on them selves and rose over the audience. They flew right over to the judges table and cast a silencing charm and a barrier charm around them.

"My my. Harry my boy!" Fudge said enthusiastically. "You sure know how to please a crowd."

"Thank you sir."

"Harry, was it really necessary to endanger and embarrass Mr. Weasley and Mr. Thomas like that?" Albus said in his grandfatherly tone. He was till really pissed off. He had not believed Filius and Minerva when they said Harry and Ginny had been in the Library studying. They were supposed to be exploring the school, unknowingly following his carefully constructed plans.

The headmaster had this whole duel planned out. He'd cast a spell to insanely increase Ronald's power and knowledge of spells. Then he'd injure his sister, thereby impressing Harry. Than, Harry, who has no experience in magic, would go against a non influenced, Dean Thomas. But where had the boy learned to do that little stunt? And to think that Ronald would act so out of terms like that…Albus barely had any time to empower both Ron and Dean.

Then the snake happened. Why hadn't it worked? Harry was supposed to talk to the snake. Making the crowd hate him, most particularly Miss Weasley! Yet not only had he not spoken Parseltongue, he and his partner had managed to win the duel! This was unacceptable!

"Well sir. Ronald tried to attack us with a snake. We simply decided to respond not with violence. We made sure that the snake wouldn't hurt him and Dean."

"Yes but still, that was a very reckless thing to do. The Daily Profit will have a ball with that stunt!" Albus pressed on.

"Sir, Ronald could have just shaken to snake off and continued the duel. He was the one who conjured it, he should have taken car of it accordingly." Ginny said sternly.

They saw Minerva and Filius come over. Harry opened the barrier just enough for them to squeeze through.

"Excellent duel Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley." Minerva said. "Hopefully this will show Mr. Weasley and his friends that studying is essential."

"Minerva, that little display Harry and Ginny performed will have severe consequences!" Albus promised.

"Like what sir?" Harry asked innocently. We didn't break any rules, did we Professor Flitwick?"

The short man shook his head. "No you two did not break any rule that I laid out. On the other hand, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Thomas broke every single rule there was. There were to be five rounds, not three. There was to be no lethal spells, which they both cast numerous times I might add. They misbehaved and did not listen to a word that I said. And they used a magical shield." Ron and Dean will be punished. Not Harry and Ginny."

"But-" Albus began.

"What I would like to know, is how Ronald and his friend were able to produce such powerful and advanced spells. They are not even able to turn a match into a needle from what I've heard. Minerva's told me that she's found numerous matches stuck to the ceiling directly over Ronald's seat. She's told me about him being at the bottom of the class." Filius cut the headmaster off.

Albus said something about addressing the situation and dispersed the crowd. He and the rest of the teachers became busy making the crowd stay in one place...away from Harry.

Minerva said to the two, "And that will be twenty points each for such an excellent duel. Mr. Weasley and Thomas will be losing fifty points each for such disregard for the rules. As well as another fifty for disgracing a duel they began. Good work you two. I will still be expecting that essay on wood changing spells on my desk this Friday."

"Already finished Professor." McGonagal gave them a rare smile and left.

Fudge was left alone with Harry and Ginny.

"Quite a display." He said. "I know that you will become an excellent wizard Harry. You too…um…"

"Ginny." She said.

"Yes. Now then, I would like to speak with you in private Harry."

"Ginny's my best friend. She'll listen to what you have to say with me."

"Err…right then. Well, I would…I think that it would be for the best of the community if you were to come to the ministry every now and then."

"I would like that sir. I would enjoy getting to know how our government works. As long as Ginny can come with me."

"Yes. After that duel, I cannot doubt that she is a powerful witch as well. I am glad to hear your answer Harry. Now then, I need to go and make an announcement to our audience. We will send you a letter about when you can come." The minister walked away.

'We need to learn who the key people are in the ministry.' Harry thought to Ginny.

'I already know how the ministry works.' Ginny thought back. 'Whoever has the biggest wallet makes the laws.'

'True. Hey, time to face the storm.' He said as he looked past her head.

'What do you m…it's mum…isn't it.' It was a statement, not a question.

'Let's face the music.' Harry thought as he let Ms. Weasley into the barrier. This was the real reason they had made it. Because Ginny's mom's temper was a bit noisy.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY! FIRST YOU BECOME A…A RAVENCLAW!1 AND NOT A GRYFFINDOR? AND THEN YOU TRICK HARRY POTTER INTO DOING THE SAME? I'VE SPOKEN WITH THE HEADMASTER AND YOU TWO ARE GOING TO HAVE A RESORTING STRAIGHT AFTER THE MINISTER'S ANNOUNCEMENT! AND HOW DARE YOU ATTACK RONALD LIKE THAT!1 YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!"

"Mrs. Weasley…Ron was trying to kill us." Mrs. Weasley calmed down a bit. She spoke gently to Harry.

"It's alright Harry. I know that Ginny's been putting ridiculous ideas into your head. Hogwash about Ron being dumb and how she's your friend." Then her voice carried a deadly tone to it. "But this, saying Ron, your best friend, was trying to kill you? Ginny, you will be severely punished for this!"

"Mrs. Weasley, Ron is not my best friend. He is not even my friend. Ginny is. She has helped me since before the first day of school. All Ron is after is my fame and money."

"I'm sorry for the damage Ginny has done Harry. Don't worry, once you're place back into Gryffindor, things will be much better."

"Mum…I haven't done anything to Harry except be his friend. I've helped him adjust from the muggle world to the wizarding world."

"Stop telling lies! Harry Potter being raised by muggles? Hah! And you're in Ravenclaw? They've really lowered their standards haven't they?"

"Mrs. Weasley…I was raised by muggles. I never knew about the wizarding world until this summer. Ginny helped me adjust. Not Ron. All he's done is stare at my stupid scar and declared himself my best friend."

"Which he is!" Ginny's mother said.

"No his is not. To be a friend, you have to meet someone halfway. Ron hasn't even ever met me. He's only met the boy who lived.

"Which you are!"

"But that is just a title. I am Harry James Potter. Just a normal wizard. I haven't done anything. Voldemort just vanished." Mrs. Weasley flinched at the name of the dark lord.

I didn't kill him or anything." He said truthfully. Especially the last part. He hadn't done anything, it was his mother's doing.

"Harry-" Mrs, Weasley continued.

"And I am not a Gryffindor. I am a Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat does it's best to place people into the best house suited for them."

"But Gryffindor is the best." She tried to convince him.

"No it is not. That is an opinion. The fact is that there are four houses at Hogwarts. No one better or worse than the other. It is the wizarding world that has said who is better. And the wizarding world is biased. There have been just as many dark wizards in any one of the other three houses as Slytherin. Yes, that includes Gryffindor as well. Face it, Hogwarts is completely biased-"

"Harry…Hogwarts is not biased-" She countered gently.

"Oh yeah? What is the color of the Hogwarts express?"

"Red." She said confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"And what is the color of Gryffindor?"

"Red." "Still doesn't have to do with anything. They're both red. So what?"

"So are you still trying to tell me the wizarding world and Hogwarts are not biased?"

"Yes."

"Mrs. Weasley, have you even been listening to what I have just said?"

"Yes!" She was starting to get annoyed.

'Now I know where Ron get's his attention skills.' Harry thought to Ginny, who giggled in thought.

"Mrs. Weasley, if you cannot understand what I've been trying to tell you, than…" He turned to leave. Mrs. Weasley hugged him from behind.

"Oh Harry, I feel so sorry for you. To be bewitched by Ginny. Don't worry, we'll sort her out. And if it's true that you live with muggles, we'll get you straight out of there. You could become apart of our family!" She said happily.

"We'll see." Harry said simply. He and Ginny walked away. "We'll see." They walked over to Flitwick.

"Congratulations you two. That was an excellent duel!"

"It would have been, had there been no interference and Ron and Dean paid attention."

"Yes. Well I can surely say that we will be winning the house cup for the next seven years to come with you two around. By the way, an extra twenty points for not using a single offensive spell to win the duel. Even I would have never thought to have done that to finish a duel."

"We never really even cared for this duel. It was for a stupid selfish want of Ron's. And he doesn't regard any rules at all. We do wish to learn real dueling however." Ginny said.

"I agree with you. This duel is pointless. I am glad to here that you want to learn."

"We read all those books, but they can only give us so much. It would be an honor for us to learn under a master." Harry said sincerely.

"No one has ever even acknowledged that before. I would be happy to teach the true art of dueling to you two."

"Thank you professor."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad this is over. Your brother even tried to bribe me into throwing the duel to him."

"No surprise there." Ginny said. "How much did he pay you?"

"Two knuts."

"A lot more than he usually offers." Ginny smiled.

"My office, Saturday."

"Done." They parted ways.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?" The minister's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. The chattering of the crowd died down. "THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRADULATE THE WINNERS OF OUR DUEL, HARRY POTTER AND…GINNY WEASLEY."

'At least he got it right.' Harry thought.

'True.' Ginny said laughing.

"AND NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT." The crowd was dead silent. "THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A GREAT WIZARD. HIS NAME, MERLIN. CONQUEROR OF THE EVIL MORGANA LE FAY."

'My how wizard kind gets the facts wrong.' Merlin and Morgana spoke together in their minds.

"-PURVEYOR OF THE WORLD! MERLIN WAS THE GREATEST OF US ALL! OUR FELLOW WIZARDING COUNTRIES SAY THAT HE HAD DIED!" The crowd muttered angry curses. Britain was one of the few that knew Merlin was still alive. "WE ARE AMOUNG THE FEW THAT KNOW THE TRUTH. WE ARE THE LAST TO BE HIS LOYAL SERVANTS! THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS LOST SIGHT OF HIM. THEY DARE TO SAY THAT HE IS GONE!"

"I am gone you morons!" Merlin thought.

"WELL, I SAY DIFFERENT. WE SAY DIFFERENT! THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC HAS MADE A NEW LAW STATING THAT THERE WILL BE A CEREMONY HELD ON THE SEVENTH HOUR ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH EACH AND EVERY YEAR! SEVEN IS THE MOST MAGICAL NUMBER OF ALL!"

"No, it's just a muggle theory that you've adopted over the years." Merlin said annoyed.

" AND IN THIS CEREMONY, WE WILL HAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU STEP INTO A MAGICAL VEIL. IN THIS VEIL, WE SHALL FIND MERLIN. HE HAS TAKEN RESIDENSE INSIDE ONE OF YOU! AND WE WILL FIND HIM. AND WE, HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS, WILL BRING HIM BACK TO WHERE HE BELONGS!"

The crowd erupted into cheers of happiness and joy. They knew Merlin was coming back.

'This, could be a problem." Harry thought. But then he grinned. He saw the little sheet of paper fly through the window.

'It's here." He thought to Ginny.

'Well? Do it already!'

'Engorgio!' He thought. The little paper swelled in size. In a few seconds, it was the size of the wall of the Great Hall. Harry added tons of lighting charms to it. Together, they spelled in changing colors. The crowd had mixed reactions. Most of the students (and some of the adults) burst out laughing. Others looked completely scandalized. The rest were frozen in shock at the sight before them. And boy was it not a pretty one.

It was the picture of Dumbledore from his little trip to Gringotts. Griphook had told Harry all about it. It was the perfect starting prank. Standing a hundred feet high, was Albus Dumbledore, in his hot pink boxers. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight. Both the blown up version, and the actual sized one screaming below. The lights came together and formed multicolored words made of sparks.

THIS PRANK IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NEW MESSERS.

BOLT, WILDFIRE, MISCHIEF, MANIAC, AND ANONYMOUS.

THE NEW MARAUDERS!

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

Harry and Ginny stood laughing outside Dumbledore's office. They still couldn't get over the fact of their first prank. And they knew that hey were going to just have o top it. Dumbledore had "forgotten" to tell them the password to his office but luckily, Harry was the descendent of the four builders of Hogwarts and the word simply came to him.

'Twizzlers?' He thought as he and Ginny climbed the spiral stairs. 'Really?'

'Has to have some kind of hobby?' She guessed. They could here Dumbledore screaming about the prank from two floors below.

"Ah Harry!" Albus said happily. "Ginny." He added, the enthusiasm lost. "Welcome, now as you have been told-"

"Screamed at by mom." Ginny said sarcastically.

"Watch your mouth! We're doing you a favor!" Her mother threatened. Arthur looked miserable. He gave Harry and Ginny a look of apology. They smiled and silently forgave him.

"Yes…now then, you are here to be re sorted."

"Sir? After that many sortings, isn't it kind of obvious that I am a Ravenclaw?"

"After that…mistake at the sorting ceremony, I found a number of spells put on the hat to influence it to put you in Ravenclaw. I have ridded it of all these horrid spells and now we will resort you properly."

"How could someone have put a spell on it?" Ginny asked. "It's always in here except for the ceremony."

"Don't talk about things you don't understand!" Molly shouted at her daughter.

"Now, let's sort you both. You first Ms. Weasley.

Ginny walked over to the hat and put it on. One minute passed. Sure enough, like Harry had expected, the hat said Ravenclaw. Molly raged on and on. Ginny handed the hat over to Harry. He put it on and heard the familiar voice.

'Hello Godric.'

'Hello Harry. Been awhile huh?"'

'Yes. A week is some time. Did you find the book I mentioned?'

'No. IT wasn't there. Book five hundred and eleven was there. Along with book five hundred and thirteen. But there was no five hundred and twelve. It wasn't checked out either. Lots of books are missing from there.

'Interesting. A certain headmaster might have something to do with it.'

'So anyway, let's get on with the sorting. I'm guessing he put about a hundred more spells on you to put me in Gryffindor, right?'

'One hundred and four to be exact. Yet yours and Ginny's minds are so far advanced, those weak spells hold no chance.'

"Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted. Dumbledore, for a second, shot the hat a look of murder. Then he sighed and said, "Fine! You two go to bed now!" And with that, he walked to his chambers.

"Ginevra! How could you disrespect the headmaster like that?" Molly shouted.

"Easy. He was being a nosy git." Ginny said calmly. She turned around and left the office, followed by Harry.

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

'-still cant believe him!' Ginny thought. They were on the changing staircases, heading back to the stable, nonmoving shortcut they had found.

'That's just the way he is Ginny. Ron and Dumbledore both. Speaking of Ron, did you…remove that Bat Bogey Hex you sent up their way?"

'What Bat Bogey Hex?" She said with a smile. Then, suddenly, the staircase they were standing on changed. They were headed to a new door. The one leading to the third floor corridor. They were on the right hand side.

'Ginny. Let's find out what Dumbledore's hiding.'

'Agreed.'

And they walked up to the door. They expected it to be charmed to be locked.

'The older students should know Alohamora. I'm guessing that's the only spell Dumbledore put on it.' Rowena said.

'Not as bright as everyone makes him out to be.' Godric agreed.

'Let's find out what's inside.' Salazar said.

'But do be careful/' Helga reminded them.

Harry reached for the knob. It turned easily. The door slid open silently. Before he could take a step, Ginny told him to stop. She pointed to the floor. It looked very dusty. But there was parts where the floor was clean. They took the shapes of human feet. Ginny looked closely at the footprints. Finally she stood and said,

'Someone's in here, right now.'

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

**A/N: Well, that's that. Cliffhanger for you guys to balance on. The duel has come and gone. Ron completely ignored the rules and used quite a few lethal and dark spells. Harry and Ginny didn't even use an offensive spell in the double duel. Only defense. And Ron messed up the rules to a duel that he started! Even if he was controlled, there were some moments that he was fully conscious. **

**Mrs. Wealsey has had her shouting feast. Don't worry! There will be plenty more where that came from. She, like every other wizard in the world, is blind to the truth. **

**And Dumbles tried once again to sort them into Gryffindor, once again unsuccessful. And he messed, unsuccessfully again, with the duel! How could he? Unfortunately, few know the truth and even fewer would believe those few.**

**Had to put in that prank. I had that one planned since I mentioned it in the Vault X chapters. But I did have Ginny cast that silent Bat Bogey Hex on Ron and Dean too. **

**And who could be inside the trapdoor? Find out next chapter!**

**Thanks To…**

**God of all Nightwing 509 Buddygirl1004 **

**CometJim moon of starless nights Professor Chris**

**DaneilWhite flight of the phoenix benperez31**

**ProngsandI NUDGELOVER Luiz4200**

**Mei fa-chan Electromental**

**Bragging Rights go to…**

**NUDGELOVER-Batbogey Hex**

**ProngsandI-goblins**

**Moon of starless night-Ron prat**

**Comet Jim-Ron cheat, Shield, Gringotts**

**Buddygirl1004-Snake**

**Challenges…**

**1. What will happen next?**

**2. Who's in the trapdoor? **

**See you next chapter.**

**SuperXBrother.**


	17. The Trapdoor

Here it is everyone! Chapter Seventeen has arrived! So who could possibly be down under the trapdoor? Could it be Serverus Snape? Albus Dumbledore? Professor Quirrl? Voldemort? Someone new to the story? Well, you'll have to read on and find out, cause I'm not going to tell you.

_Previously…_

_'-still cant believe him!' Ginny thought. They were on the changing staircases, heading back to the stable, nonmoving shortcut they had found._

_'That's just the way he is Ginny. Ron and Dumbledore both. Speaking of Ron, did you…remove that Bat Bogey Hex you sent up their way?"_

_'What Bat Bogey Hex?" She said with a smile. Then, suddenly, the staircase they were standing on changed. They were headed to a new door. The one leading to the third floor corridor. They were on the right hand side._

_'Ginny. Let's find out what Dumbledore's hiding.'_

_'Agreed.'_

_And they walked up to the door. They expected it to be charmed to be locked._

_'The older students should know Alohamora. I'm guessing that's the only spell Dumbledore put on it.' Rowena said._

_'Not as bright as everyone makes him out to be.' Godric agreed._

_'Let's find out what's inside.' Salazar said._

_'But do be careful/' Helga reminded them._

_Harry reached for the knob. It turned easily. The door slid open silently. Before he could take a step, Ginny told him to stop. She pointed to the floor. It looked very dusty. But there was parts where the floor was clean. They took the shapes of human feet. Ginny looked closely at the footprints. Finally she stood and said,_

_'Someone's in here, right now.'_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**The Trapdoor**

They both entered the corridor. Harry was surprised. He expected it to look more…forbidden? There were statues of knights, floating candles, it looked just the same as any other hall. Sure the lights were dimmer, but other than that…Suddenly a cold rush of wind pushed against them. Something was telling him to go back. And so, in response, he and Ginny went forward.

A torch lit up. Ginny calmly raised her hand up towards the flames and they died out. The leftover smoke vanished into thin air.

"We don't want anyone knowing that we've been here. They seem to light up when we've passed them." Ginny said. Harry cast a secrecy charm on them. He then cast a _Silencio_ on the entire chamber. The motion spells now had no chance of detecting them. They might as well have been invisible to Dumbledore's simple spells.

Then, they heard a loud "Meow!" They looked down and saw a dust colored creature with blood red eyes. It was Mrs. Norris, Argus Filch's cat. She often patrolled the halls and whisked off to Filch when anyone broke a rule. Ginny gave a startled yelp. But Harry smiled and crouched down.

"Harry…what are you doing?" Ginny asked.

Harry ignored her and began scratching the cat behind the ear. Mrs. Norris was very happy. Her owner had never given her this type of adoration before. No one had. She began purring and scratching herself. She licked Harry's hand and rolled over. He scratched harder. She was in total bliss. This was heaven.

Harry eventually stopped scratching but that didn't stop Mrs. Norris. She began rubbing herself against Harry's leg. Ginny looked at Harry, shock written all over her face.

"Harry…how…how did you do that?" She stuttered.

"What? All cats like adoration." Harry said with a shrug.

"Yeah…but that's Filch's cat! She's never liked anyone! Not even Filch!"

"Ginny…she's a cat with feelings. The students kick her around and sometimes even torture her. It's no wonder she hates the students and gets them in trouble all the time. They have mistreated her for so long, she thinks all students are the exact same. All she wants is some love and attention. Filch gives her attention, but he loves getting students in trouble more than her, so she gets them in trouble to try and get even the slightest bit of love."

"I…I never thought about it that way before."

"What the students need to realize is she may be a cat…but she has feelings too."

"I…I guess." Ginny said. She bent down and scratched Mrs. Norris under her chin. The cat's purrs rumbled throughout the corridor.

After five minutes of adoration, Harry said, "Sorry Mrs. Norris, but we've got to go." The cat's eyes grew sad. "But we will be back! I promise!" Her eyes lit up at this. One more rub against them and she walked out the door.

"Well…that was interesting." Ginny said.

"Sure was." They started exploring again. They came upon a locked door. Another utter of "_Alohamora." _The lock clicked open like before and door slid open.

"Why does Dumbledore think a locking charm will keep everyone out?" Harry asked.

"He thinks that cause it's him that cast it, it will be impossible to open ." Ginny answered before looking ahead.

"Don't scream. It'll only provoke it." Harry said seriously. It filled the entire room, from floor to ceiling. It had three pairs of eyes. Three pairs of wet noses. And three drooling mouths. All on the three huge heads of one monstrous dog.

It stood still, all six eyes staring at them. The dog looked confused. Wondering why they were not screaming their minds off.

Harry, very slowly, took out his wand, and conjured up a huge, red, rubber dodge ball.

"See the ball boy? You want the ball? Sit!" The Cerberus looked as surprised as Ginny.

"Sit!" Harry commanded again.

Ginny was thinking that any moment now he'd become the world's dog biscuit.

But then, the dog licked its three sets of lips. He sat straight down. Suddenly, it sounded like a muggle SWAT Team was trying to break down the door.

The dog was wagging its streetlamp sized tail.

"Good boy." Harry said. He threw the dodge ball to the dog. The one in the middle caught it in its mouth. The other two heads started barking at the middle one, trying to play with the new toy.

"Drop it!" Harry shouted. The three heads looked at him. He then dropped the shredded ball, covered in saliva, to Harry's feet. He looked at Ginny.

"Harry…how?" He gave her a look and pointed to the ball. The Cerberus was whimpering. It wanted to play some more. "Alright." She conjured up a new ball, bigger than the one before, and placed an indestructible charm on it so it wouldn't be ripped to shreds by the three mouthfuls of jagged yellow teeth.

She threw it to the back of the room and the dog turned around, looking for his new toy. Ginny saw something, underneath the dog's huge rump. It looked like…a trapdoor.

"Harry. The dog's guarding a trapdoor. Something important is underneath it."

"Okay." Cerberus found the ball and dropped it, ready for them to throw it once more.

Harry cast a bouncy charm on the ball so that it would continually keep the dog entertained. "We have to go for now. We'll visit you again soon." The dog moaned for them to stay.

Ginny said sadly, "I'm sorry. But we need to go. We'll be back again. Okay?" The dog barked in happiness. Harry went over and rubbed his belly. The dog's three tongues panted happily. He rolled onto his side and Ginny saw a small door painted to look just like the wall.

"Wait, Harry…what's that over there?" She pointed to the hidden door.

"Let's check it out. It might have something to do with the trapdoor.

He then went and opened the door. There was a staircase leading to the floors below. They looked at each other, nodded, and walked down. Harry went first and Ginny, still holding the ball, turned around. The dog looked at her. She smiled and threw the ball. It bounced endlessly. She closed the door, and listening to the barks of joy, she knew they had just made a dog very, very happy.

Together, they descended the staircase. They came into a small room with a window. It over looked a room right next to it filled with plants.

"I think that's Devil Snare." Ginny said. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Good thing we didn't fall through the trapdoor. We need to make sure no one knows we were here. If we had used fire or light, the plants would have dried up, and the teachers would know someone had been there."

They walked across the room and went down the next set of stairs. Soon they found themselves in another comfortable room. Once again, there was a window overlooking a chamber. Flying keys fluttered about. The wooden door leading on had a huge, old fashioned lock on it. There was also a really, really old broomstick hovering in midair.

"I think Dumbledore built this place so he could watch over whoever's going through these rooms." Harry said. Ginny nodded.

"He probably wants to test you. I'm not sure for what, but he is controlling. It cant be good what ever it is."

"Yeah, I'm guessing each professor made a test. Professor Sprout with the Devil's Snare. And Flitwick with these flying keys. I wonder what else is down there."

"Let's find out." The went down the third flight of stairs. They came into a room overlooking a giant chessboard."

"McGonagal." They said together. There were both white and black pieces standing in the room. The tallest among them reaching twelve feet high. The white stone figures guarded the next door.

"I'm getting the feeling Dumbledore was planning each of these rooms for a certain, specific student." Salazar said.

"What do you mean?" Harry and Ginny asked together.

"Yes. I agree with Salazar. You, Harry, with the room with the keys and broomstick. Godric proclaimed.

"That idiot Ronald with this chessboard." Rowena commented.

"And the room with the plants was for Hermione." Helga finished.

"He was planning my events at school before I even got here!" Harry said angrily.

"But at least you already know the truth about him. And Hermione isn't adoring him like she used too." Ginny said gently, trying to calm him down.

"You're right Ginny. Sorry."

"Harry, it's not your fault Dumbledore is an arrogant, controlling bastard!" Ginny yelled at him. He laughed.

"I guess so. Now lets see what else the old coot was planning for me." He said. They found themselves plugging their noses. There was a troll sleeping inside this room. The stench was making its way through three inch glass. They quickly hurried out and into the next room, gasping for breath.

"What…were they…thinking?" Ginny stuttered, her eyes watering.

"I…guess the…stench…could…drive away…anyone." Harry gulped down fresh air.

They looked down the next glass window. There, sat a table full of seven differently shaped bottles of potion. There was a card sitting on the table as well.

"Okay, I'm going to summon the card. It'll hit the glass. I want you to read it while I hold it there. Okay?" Harry asked.

"Got it."

"_Accio_ paper!" The card fluttered lazily off the table and zoomed right into the glass. Ginny read the card, memorizing every word.

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind._

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find._

_One among us seven will let you move ahead._

_Another will transport the drinker back instead._

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine._

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forever more._

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four._

_First however slyly, the poison tries to hide._

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side._

_Second, different are those who stand on either end. But if you would move onward, neither is your friend._

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size._

_Neither dwarf nor giant hold death in their insides._

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right._

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"Idiot!" Merlin shouted. "Why would he tell you which one will allow you forward? If it was forbidden and it was guarding something, wouldn't it be best to have them all hold poison?"

Harry waved his wand, and gently set the card back where it originally was.

"That's Dumbledore for you. He'd have Hermione solve it. But the one that lets you go onward is probably only enough for me. Hermione would have to stay behind." Harry said logically.

"I sense flame charms set up here. Once one passes the threshold, they are set to go off." Morgana said. "One could just use a Freeze-flame charm! That's second year magic!"

"But it is based on logic, so only few could proceed." Rowena said. They turned and walked down the steps. They saw that it was the final chamber. Harry cast a bunch of invisibility and illusion charms on himself and Ginny. They silently walked into the final chamber. There was already someone there.

The person, who looked like a man, stood in front of a huge mirror. Harry watched as the person reached into their robes, and pulled out what looked like a blood-red stone. The person pulled out a wand and cast a spell. The blood-red stone floated right into the mirror.

"Perfect." The man said in a familiar voice. "Perfect. It is all set. Nothing can interrupt my plans now." The man turned around.

It was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

The headmaster oh Hogwarts stepped up the stairs, and walked towards the staircase Harry and Ginny were in. though they had a Silencing spell cast over them, they still were still deathly quiet. But the Headmaster strolled straight by them. They stood absolutely still until they heard a door slam shut.

"Harry…? She said the same time as Harry.

"Ginny…? He said the same time as Ginny.

"Get a move on you two! Find out what that old codger was doing!" Merlin shouted.

They ran down the stairs and over to the mirror." It looked ancient and stood proud and mighty, looming over them. Etched into the mirror were the words,

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

Harry did not understand what the words meant. They sounded like a foreign language. But nonetheless, he stared into the mirror. Inside the glass…he saw something. There, he stood, looking back. It was an older version of himself. But another person was standing next to him. A woman. She had long red hair and was beautiful. A small child stood in between them.

At first, Harry thought he was looking at a portrait of his own family. But then, Harry realized something. The woman did not have the green eyes everyone said he inherited from her. The woman had warm brown eyes. Only one person had those eyes. And then, Harry understood what the mirror did. It showed the viewer their deepest desire.

Harry's deepest desire was to have a family.

TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS

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**A/N: **And bam! This chapter is over! Harry and Ginny have discovered the secret of the trapdoor. What else could lie inside? Harry found what his deepest desire is as well. And what could that stone possibly be? What will Harry and Ginny do with this new knowledge? I'm not telling!

And Dumbledore has a whole bunch of viewing rooms to watch how Harry is going to do in the chambers? He had planned everything from the start? That lying, cheating, $$, ing, $%%$%$! He was there the whole time!

So what could happen now that Harry's found out this itty bitty little tidbit of information early?

You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out!

Halloween's coming up soon, along with Harry and Ginny's next flying lesson, where they will actually get to fly on a broomstick this time. Do the challenges below. And expect the next chapter soon.

**Thanks To…**

Comet Jim Nightwing 509 Pokemon-Hogwarts4eva

Moon of starless nights Professor Chris mdauben

Buddygirl004 benperez31 Karl Skywalker

NUDGELOVER Daniel White god of all

..86 Mei fa-chan Mrs Yaya

Arashigan16 The Spiked Dragon

**Bragging Rights Go To…**

NUDGELOVER-Dumbledore

Buddygirl1004-Dumbledore

**Comet Jim-Play with Fluffy**

**Challenges**

**1. What will Harry and Ginny do next?**

**2. What will happen on Halloween?**

**3. Should Harry and Ginny be on the Quidditch Team? Or should they focus more on their studies?**

**TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS TLLP:TS**

**See you next chapter!**

**SuperXBrother **


	18. Confrontations

Wow! It is just three days later and you guys already have sent twenty six reviews! There have been almost five thousands hits since the last chapter updated! Thanks so much! It's officially been half a year since this story began!

I do not own Harry Potter.

_Previously…_

_"Perfect." The man said in a familiar voice. "Perfect. It is all set. Nothing can interrupt my plans now." The man turned around._

_It was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore._

_The headmaster of Hogwarts stepped up the stairs, and walked towards the staircase Harry and Ginny were in. though they had a Silencing spell cast over them, they still were still deathly quiet. But the Headmaster strolled straight by them. They stood absolutely still until they heard a door slam shut._

_"Harry…? She said the same time as Harry._

_"Ginny…? He said the same time as Ginny._

_"Get a move on you two! Find out what that old codger was doing!" Merlin shouted._

_They ran down the stairs and over to the mirror." It looked ancient and stood proud and mighty, looming over them. Etched into the mirror were the words,_

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

_Harry did not understand what the words meant. They sounded like a foreign language. But nonetheless, he stared into the mirror. Inside the glass…he saw something. There, he stood, looking back. It was an older version of himself. But another person was standing next to him. A woman. She had long red hair and was beautiful. A small child stood in between them._

_At first, Harry thought he was looking at a portrait of his own family. But then, Harry realized something. The woman did not have the green eyes everyone said he inherited from her. The woman had warm brown eyes. Only one person had those eyes. And then, Harry understood what the mirror did. It showed the viewer their deepest desire._

_Harry's deepest desire was to have a family._

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Confrontations**

Harry felt his face redden. His most deepest desire was to have a family with Ginny? He didn't even really know how to talk to girls! Sure he liked her, he liked her a lot, but marriage had never ever crossed his mind before. And children…he was eleven! Soul bonded or not, he was not ready to be a father!

He turned and looked at Ginny. She was gazing into the mirror and, luckily, had not seemed to have heard his thoughts. Her face was bright red, probably matching his own. He wondered what she could be seeing as her deepest desire.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Godric called out. The so called, Lovebirds, jumped. They looked at each other, saw each other's flushed faces, and looked the other way.

"Now this is not the time for this!" Ardoris smirked.

"Right now, you two need to figure out what Albus Dumbledore did with this mirror." Rowena said.

"And especially that stone. I hope it isn't what I thought it was." Helga replied worriedly.

"So stop blushing and figure this out!" Salazar scolded them.

"Besides," Soleil said slyly. "the sooner you two get this figured out, the sooner you can get back to your little love fest."

Harry and Ginny turned, if even possible, even more red in embarrassment. After a few minutes, their faces returned to their natural color.

"Well…I…I…guess we can…see what…is inside…?" Harry started uneasily.

"Oh! Um…yes…yeah." Ginny stuttered. They started inspecting the mirror silently, not looking at each other.

"Um…" Harry said after five minutes. "How do we figure this thing out?"

"Come on!" Rowena shouted. "Are you two my descendents or not? Think logically!"

"Dumbledore put something into this mirror, saying his plans were now set." Ginny remembered.

"Exactly. So we need to find that stone!" Salazar said "They key to it is this mirror."

"It shows you your deepest desire. So what do you do?" Helga pressed on.

Harry thought for a second. He couldn't look into the mirror and wish to know where it was. Because he already knew the answer to that. Then, the answer hit him. He needed to wish to find out _HOW_ to get the stone.

Harry told this to Ginny and they took turns gazing into the mirror of Erised. Ginny went first and said that she saw herself do something to the glass portion of the mirror. Then, she was holding the stone. She told this to Harry. He nodded and faced the mirror.

Harry then tried. He saw his mirror self place a hand on their side of the mirror. Harry followed and the two halves' hands were touching, only separated by a mere portal to another world. There was a white glow and Harry felt something different about the mirror. His hand felt, some strange, foreign object.

Still pressed against the mirror, his hand wrapped around the stone as did his mirror half. Slowly, very slowly, both sides of the mirror pulled their closed hands away. When they were clenched no longer, two stones sat on their hands. One on one side of the mirror, and one on the other. The mirror Harry gazed at the stone just as the real Harry did. It was blood-red and sat insignificant on his palm. But both Harry and Ginny knew that, whatever this was, it was important. So important, that it was a major part of Albus's numerous plans.

"We should get out of here." Harry said, pocketing the stone.

"Agreed. But We'll be trampled by the dog.

"Dumbledore cant risk the dog seeing him." Harry said as they stepped over to the stairs. "There must be another way out without confronting the dog."

"Hold on a sec." Ginny said. She leveled her wand with the torches, and one by one, extinguished them. Harry knew why. They were motion sensitive. Harry and Ginny had just realized that their charms had worn off. Luckily them, their spells had just outlasted Dumbledore's stay here. They needed to concentrate on spells like that even when doing other tasks in the future. They were lucky this time. But they might not be again.

Dumbledore would come back at another time expecting his motion charms to be off. Once Ginny extinguished the last and removed their traces from the embers, they set off to find the secret passage.

They climbed each stair one at a time. Knowing Dumbledore, the passage could be anywhere.

Finally, Harry found a section of the wall just a mere shade darker than the rest. To the far right of the shadow, a silhouette of a sock took form of a shade just a bit more opaque than the rest of the surrounding wall.

"A sock? Really?" Ginny said, half amused, half shocked when Harry showed her.

"Its hidden from the way down. You'd have to go up and be really lucky like we were to find it."

"I guess it's worth a shot." Ginny said. She pushed against the brick th shadow was on. The wall sunk mutely, revealing a torchlit passage way.

'We better put on full secrecy spells. This could lead us right into Dumbledore's office.' Ginny thought to Harry. He nodded in response.

'Agreed.' He thought back. 'Hey, I think I see him!' He said after a soundless minute walk.

'Yup. There's only one man who could have a beard that long.' Ginny thought with a giggle.

'Let's see where we end up.' And so, our two heroes followed the clueless Professor Dumbledore, who finally, came to a sudden halt. It was so abrupt that had the eleven year olds not cast a non-touchable charm, they would have slammed into said Professor, revealing everything.

Dumbledore looked back and forth, almost paranoid, and then, pressed a brick. Another passageway opened…right into his office. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and pressed onward. They both

would rather trying to get around the Cerberus. But the passageway sealed itself behind them. They'd just have to wait right next to the doorway out.

Luckily, as if an answer to their prayers, five minutes later, McGonagal came in to talk to Albus about next year's funding. Our lucky heroes slipped out the door and ran up and down the many stairs to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Harr slipped the stone inside his trunk and locked it tight.

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The following morning was, finally, the next flying lesson. The students would be on their brooms and in the air for the first time. Madame Hooch, a stern grey haired woman with the yellow eyes like a hawk, would be teaching them.

"And now, like I promised, we'll be in the air this class. Now, what are you waiting for?" She barked. :Everyone stand by a broom. Hurry up!"

The brooms were all old and battered. The front was bent almost ninety degrees to the left. Fred and George had warned them before hand about how unreliable they really were.

""Stick your right hand over the broom and say UP!"

"UP!" Everyone shouted. Harry's and Ginny's brooms shot straight into their hands at once. No one else's came up for at least another twenty seconds. Harry thought maybe the brooms could tell if you were afraid because a lot of terrified faces were amongst the class. Eventually, after ten minutes, everyone had their broom in their grasp.

"No, I want you to mount your brooms. Grip it tight…you do not want to slide off the end." She walked around and corrected people's grips. Harry and Ginny were only two of four who had managed to have a perfect grasp.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off of the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady. Hover for a moment, lean forward slightly, and come back down. On my whistle-three-two-one."

The whistle blew. Most had been unbalanced and one fell off, uninjured though. Harry, Ginny, and a few others were the only ones able to correctly do the assignment.

A few practices later, they all went down to the Quidditch field.

"Now this time, I want you to do one lap around the pitch, anyway you feel most comfortable. I want to see how well you can handle flying. Once the person in front of you has finished their lap, you take off. Understand?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Mr. Adams. Whenever your ready."

A small, brown haired boy nervously shot off. Two seconds in he crashed flat against the ground. Madame Hooch checked him, he was banged up, but otherwise unharmed.

Ms. Anti went next. She kept on going and wasn't able to make the turn. Madame Hooch sighed and took off. Five minutes later she returned, their clothes ruffled up quite a bit. Madame Hooch was muttering something about the Forbidden Forest.

The list continued on. Soon Ms. Dennis was the first to be able to make a full lap around the field. Mr. Mazio was an arrogant boy who claimed he'd flown hundreds of times before. He didn't last more than five seconds. He then started cursing about someone jinxing the already horrible broomsticks.

Harry's turn finally came. Once Mr. Park had stumbled back, he shot off like a rocket. The wind in his face felt amazing. He was born to fly. He expected that was one of the reasons his main animagus form was a bird. He went faster and faster. He was one with the broom. IT didn't matter how jerky it was. He was in control. He was the master. Even with the slightest movement of his finger, the broom responded perfectly in sync. He banked around the end of the field so hard that he was upside down when he came out. Of course, that wasn't a problem. He flew the entire length of the field with the entire world inverted.

He banked flawlessly around the final turn and landed up right. Madame Hooch had a shocked look on her face. She then continued on the list. Finally, the last student's name was called. Ginny Weasley. She flew even better than he did! She was the master of the pitch. The wind rippled her long red hair. She was a red and blue blur racing by. Watching her fly was even better than flying himself! She landed and the flying instructor had yet another confounded look upon her face. She then dismissed them but asked Harry and Ginny to stay behind. Her yellow eyes scanned the two of them. Finally, she said,

"I must congratulate you two. That was excellent flying. Better than many students years ahead of you in fact. May I ask that you two follow me?" They nodded and walked behind her into the castle.

She led them down may halls until they came to the charms classroom. She knocked on the door and said,

"Excuse me, but Professor Flitwick, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course." The tiny wizard said. He walked out and looked at Harry and Ginny.

"Hello you two. I do hope you have remembered your lesson with me later on tonight?" They nodded. "Good. Now, what can I do for you?"

"May I ask that we go somewhere a bit more…private?" The flying professor asked.

"Of course." He faced the classroom and said, "Do chapters nine through twelve while I'm gone. Remember, complete sentences! I'll probably be gone the rest of the period. So just keep working until the bell."

They walked down a few halls and found an empty class. Flitwick cast a soundless charm on the door and they began.

"Professor, these two…they were born to fly. With them on your team, you'll win for sure!"

"Are you serious?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes. I've never seen anyone fly as well as these two. They are better than some of the fifth years on the teams!"

"Have you two ever played Quidditch before?" Flitwick asked. Ginny nodded but Harry said "No."

"Really? And that was your first time Potter?" Hooch asked, impressed. Harry nodded. "Ginny, can you explain the rules to him later?" The red head replied with a "Yes."

"The Quidditch tryouts are coming soon. I want to see both of you try out. You'll earn a spot for sure!" Hooch appraised them.

"But which positions?" Flitwick asked.

"I do not know yet. We will need to see what they can do. But they have talent Filius. Amazing talent. I expect to see you to on the first game of the season." Hooch said. She turned around and then left.

Flitwik stared at them in admiration. "You two are something else. We'll talk about this later. Now then, are you ready for your training?" They nodded and so began the first lesson of Filius Flitwick's school of dueling.

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Halloween was here. The ghosts were more lively, jack-o-lanterns filled the air of the great hall, and the corridors took on a more sinister appearance.

For Harry, Halloween was just another reminder of he he didn't have parents. They had died on this very night. On this night, his mother had placed the ritual on him. On this night, Voldemort had vanished. It was this night that he became famous and every witch and wizard in the world would know his name. It was on this night that he, Harry James Potter, was declared the boy who lived.

A Happy Halloween indeed.

Today, Flitwick had decided for them to try the Levitation charm. Ron was flailing his wand around, trying to do something other than poke an eye out. Hermione tried to help him but he just snapped at her.

Hermione was crying when they found her. But they had managed to calm her down and bring her down to enjoy the feast. The food all took in the Halloween theme as well. Bats soared across the ceiling.

Just as the meal was getting underway, Professor Quirrel burst in.

"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEONS! TROLL!" he gasped. "Thought you'd ought to know." He said before he fainted. The students all screamed. It was an uproar.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared. Everyone was quiet. "Students will return to their dormitories. Teachers will come with me, to the dungeons."

"Professor, Slytherin's common room is in the dungeons!" Harry called out. Dumbledore had clearly not thought of that.

"All students will remain in the great hall, until the matter is resolved." He said. The teachers rolled out

and went down to the dungeons.

Hermione and Neville came over to them.

"How could a troll get in?" Hermione asked.

"Don't know. They're really stupid. Something isn't right about this. I think it was let in as a diversion." Harry said.

"Why do you think that?" Neville asked.

"Just everything seems to happen on Halloween. Voldemort tried to kill me on this night. A troll is let into the castle. That's not a coincidence." Harry replied.

"Let's get a better view of what's going on." Ginny said. They all discreetly left the hall without anyone noticing.

Ron, being the idiot fan boy that he is, followed them. Dean and Seamus not far behind.

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**A/N: **And bam! This chapter is over! So they found a secret passageway into Dumbly's office. That could be useful in the future…

Harry and Ginny are also going to try out for the Quidditch team! They will be focused on studying too! So don't worry!

And now there's a troll in the castle. What could they do to stop it. The teachers are down in the dungeons and the students, minus our heroes and idiots, are in the Great Hall. Quirrle's unconscious but for how long? And what will Snape be doing in the mean time?" Find out next time!

Thanks To…

Vegitunks1 chaser30 Comet Jim Professor Chris

Mwinter1 hannibal221 VizeerLord Nightwing509

buddy girl1004 pokemonhogwarts4eva Electometal Mei fa-chan

NUDGELOVER Daniel White im100HPGWandRWHG benperez31

..86 -Sparrow Mrs Yaya musicisbetterloud

Svenmultiman Thawk6 murdrax moon of starless night

Madmax

Bragging Rights go to….

Madmax-stone in trunk

Moonofstarlessnights-Hermione not in toilets

Im100HPGWandRWHG-stone is safe,

Challenges

1. What positions on the Quidditch Team should Harry and Ginny have?

2. What should they do after the troll?

See you next chapter!

SuperXBrother.


	19. Of Broomsticks and Trolls

You guys are amazing! I checked the review count during lunch at school. In a twenty minute period, this story got eight review. EIGHT REVIEWS! I cannot express how happy I am to be writing this story for all of you. There isn't enough memory on my computer to contain all the words of happiness I'm experiencing right now.

Just over half a year ago, I had a strange dream of baby Harry and Lily Potter surrounded by a strange golden light. Unfortunately, before I could dream any more of it, my dear, sweet, little kitty cat decided that she wanted cat food right at that very second and woke me up. The last thing I saw was the light transforming into a golden phoenix.

Glaring at my cat after seeing that it was four-o-clock in the morning, I couldn't fall asleep. So on that fine Saturday morning, I got onto my laptop. I went onto and read some stories when it hit me. The rest of the morning was spent typing away furiously on the letter keys as I tried to write my dream.

Then, as I finished typing the first chapter and put it on the site, I read it for the first time. It was so different from the original story that I wasn't so sure. A few hours later, I was considering taking it off when I discovered that Thawk6 had left a review. Then, 1314's message came onto the site. Then came Phantom1s followed by DramaLover 57. The day ended with words from Comet Jim and darkplayer35.

I was amazed. I had originally thought that this story would be a complete and utter failure. But those six reviews had caused something. Something happened. The next day, I posted chapter two, and more and more people reviewed. Soon chapter three arrived and eventually led to what you are reading today.

This story has changed me. I do not know how or why. But something has changed inside me. And I want to thank each and every one of you all for that.

Now, on with the disclaimers and the chapter!

Disclaimer: Though I wish I did, I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form at all. No profit is being made from this story.

And for those of you who want to know the Quidditch positions Harry and Ginny are, let me say this.

For Ginny, the Position was a landslide. And Comet Jim, I loved your idea of Ginny as a beater going against the twins. But she will not have that position in this story. I may put her as a beater in a future story however. J

As for Harry…the votes were so freaking close! His position won by **one **vote! I am sorry to the losing side. But Harry will be the other position in a future story.

And now, I give to you…chapter nineteen.

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_Previously…_

_Just as the meal was getting underway, Professor Quirrel burst in._

_"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEONS! TROLL!" he gasped. "Thought you'd ought to know." He said before he fainted. The students all screamed. It was an uproar._

_"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared. Everyone was quiet. "Students will return to their dormitories. Teachers will come with me, to the dungeons."_

_"Professor, Slytherin's common room is in the dungeons!" Harry called out. Dumbledore had clearly not thought of that._

_"All students will remain in the great hall, until the matter is resolved." He said. The teachers rolled out_

_and went down to the dungeons._

_Hermione and Neville came over to them._

_"How could a troll get in?" Hermione asked._

_"Don't know. They're really stupid. Something isn't right about this. I think it was let in as a diversion." Harry said._

_"Why do you think that?" Neville asked._

_"Just everything seems to happen on Halloween. Voldemort tried to kill me on this night. A troll is let into the castle. That's not a coincidence." Harry replied._

_"Let's get a better view of what's going on." Ginny said. They all discreetly left the hall without anyone noticing._

_Ron, being the idiot fan boy that he is, followed them. Dean and Seamus not far behind._

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**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Of Broomsticks and Trolls**

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Neville were all running up the stairs. Unbeknownst to them, Ron, Dean, and Seamus were tailing them.

"Where…could…they be…possibly…be going…in this…bloody…castle?" Panted the unfit Ron as they ran up just the first staircase.

"Don't know." Gasped Seamus.

"How the hell…can they…run so…fast?" Dean breathed.

"Don't know. But we've got to follow them. It's our duty to make sure Harry doesn't get in with the wrong sorts like Longbottom and Granger."

"Why? What's wrong about them?" Seamus asked. He was a bit slower than even Ron. Ron stopped abruptly and was staring at him like he'd grown three extra heads.

"What's wrong with them? Hello! Longbottom is a squib. And Granger is a bloody know it all mud blood!"

"But your sister's pureblood. What's wrong with her?" Dean asked.

"She's filling Harry's head with ridiculous ideas about Gryffindor not being the best house and how not all Slytherins are evil! The boy who lived's views of the magical world are being changed by her! She's brainwashed him and got him thinking that purebloods are…equal to everyone else! I'm expecting her to try and get him to join you know who any day now! That's what's wrong!" He shouted at them. How could they even be questioning it?

"Wait…how can Harry join you know who…if Ginny's got him thinking that mud bloods and squibs are equal to purebloods?" Dean asked. He was the most logical of the three.

"Don't ask me to explain how my sister's brain works! I'm still trying to figure that out myself! But the point is…she's changing Harry's views. She tricked him into being sorted into bloody Ravenclaw!" Ron screamed. "Now, we've got to get him away from those fools and back to where he belongs!"

Ron looked around, but they were nowhere to be seen. They had lost them when Ron was explaining his sister's psychotic ways.

"Great! You lost them!" Ron shouted. Before he could say anything else, a loud thump echoed from around the corner.

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Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Neville had gone to spy on the third floor corridor. Harry and Ginny cast the usual secrecy charms on everyone. At first, Hermione and Neville freaked out, but soon understood and asked to be taught the spells.

"Some time later. Right now we need to watch the third floor and see what happens." Ginny said.

And so, they waited. The four hid in plain sight. The rest of the students were eating away in the Great Hall. And the teachers were down in the dungeons trying to find the Troll. They waited some more. And then,

"Hey, someone's coming!" Neville said.

"Can you tell who it is?" Ginny asked.

"No, they're too far away to make out now. Let's wait." Neville said. Soon, the figure came into view. It was a man wearing a turban. Professor Quirrel.

"Him?" They all echoed at once,. The voices bounced around their secrecy bubble and they were extremely thankful for the secrecy charms Harry and Ginny had set up.

Professor Quirrel looked in every direction. Trying to see if anyone was following him. When he deemed the coast to be clear, he went through the door to the dog's chamber.

"Let's follow him." Harry said. They nodded. Soon, they all were in the third floor corridor. They walked right behind the turban clad professor.

"Stupid Potter." The Defense against the darks arts teacher muttered. His voice lacked his usual stuttering. "Had to give everyone the slip just to get up here. These idiotic teachers still think the troll's in the dungeons? Ha! Now, just need to get that stone. Dumbledore put it at the end of this corridor. No doubt he put weak first year charms, thinking the stone would be brilliantly protected. I can't believe I missed it at Gringotts. And it was in a upper vault! Those are the easiest to break into! What was the idiot thinking? Oh well, I'll be out of here with the Sorcerer's Stone by tonight."

Harry looked at the others. Their eyes were as wide as his. Quirrel was trying to steal something called a Sorcerer's Stone? That was probably what he and Ginny took from the mirror. The look in Ginny's eyes confirmed his theory.

"We'll look it up after we see what Quirrel's going to do." Harry said to the others. They nodded in agreement. Quirrel opened the door to the Cerberus, expecting the dog to be asleep or about to attack him.

What he had NOT expected, was the guard of the stone playing around like a common pet. The left head chewed on a very slobbery ball, when it saw Quirrel, the dog's head dropped the ball, expecting him to throw it like the other two had.

Quirrel instead growled. He cast a _reducto _on the ball, while it was resistant to the dog's brutality, the rubbery, slobbery ball was not prepared for a magical spell. It exploded into millions of tiny, wet pieces.

Quirrel might have let out a growl. But when compared to him, the three dogs let out a fearsome roar! They started barking like mad at him, ready to rip his head from his body. How dare he destroy their toy! Just who did this man think he was?

It roared as it crept closer and closer. Quirrel was sweating buckets now. This was supposed to be a snap. Sneak past the dog, get the stone, leave. That was all there was. He bolted straight out of the room, the three sets of jaws right where his head was a split millisecond ago.

He zoomed right through the group. Once again, had they not had cast every secrecy charm imaginable, they would have been discovered.

"He wants to steal that stone." Harry said.

"But for what?" Neville asked. "We need to look up what the Sorcerer's Stone is."

"I'm on it." Hermione said. The others knew that if you give Hermione something to research, she'll find out everything there is to know about it.

"Hold on a second." Harry said, right before they were about to go. The three headed dog was whimpering. Harry waved his wand and at once, the six eyes grew wide in excitement. In his hands laid yet another ball. This time, an indestructible charm placed on it to endure any type of attack. Be it magical, muggle, or slobbery.

Harry threw it once more and the dog chased after the ever bouncing ball once more. Harry walked out of the third floor with his friends. They began to head back to the Great Hall. When suddenly,

"I know what you were trying to do Quirrel." Came the dark voice of Professor Snape. He had cornered the shaking turban clad man.

"I-I d…don't know w-what you're t-talking about." He said, his stuttering session back on.

"Trolls lack the intelligence to get in on their own. I wonder who could have let it in? Hmm?"

"S-surely…you're not saying…?"

"I know what you are trying to pull. You may have every single one of the teachers and the headmaster fooled. But I am not swayed by your vampire story. You stutter not from fear of them. Your stuttering is all but an act. You were trying to get the thing hidden in there. Were you not?"

"No…I-"

"Then why did you not stay with the rest of the staff when we took off to find the troll? Could it have only been a diversion? Let it be known that I am not the only one who suspects something Quirrel. I would watch my back if I were you."

Quirrel's face paled even more. He looked more dead than the ghosts when Snape had said that last sentence. The head of Slytherin turned around and walked down the corridor. Quirrel slowly followed.

"So Snape suspects Quirrel too." Ginny said.

"Quirrel's up to something. He wants to steal the stone. But for what?" Hermione commented.

Harry's mind went into overdrive, trying to guess the possibilities. Dumbledore had placed the stone in one of Gringotts's less protected vaults. Why? And anyone could have guessed something important would be hidden in either Gringotts or Hogwarts. They were the safest places in the area. Wouldn't someone who wanted to steal the stone have guessed it to be hidden in one of those two places?

"Harry? Harry?" Someone said. His mind stopped thinking when someone's started snapping their fingers in front of his face. He jumped and saw it was Ginny.

"What?" He asked.

"I asked if you were okay. You seemed spaced out for a moment."

Harry started thinking again. She couldn't hear his thoughts? Did that have something to do with their connection?

"Sorry. I was just thinking." He said. Ginny nodded her head. She could understand why he wouldn't say it. Hermione and Neville looked like they wanted to find out what, but they held their mouths.

Neville eyes drifted to his left. "Hey, what's going on over there?" The rest of them looked. Down a different corridor, lights were blasting rapidly out of a door. Everyone was supposed to be down in the great hall or in the dungeons.

They all nodded and ran to the source. Round a corner and into the girls bathroom they went. The smell almost knocked them out. They needed to add smell resistant charms to their list.

Standing fifteen feet away from them, wandering aimlessly past the destroyed stalls, stood a twelve foot tall grey lump. It's head, looked like a grey coconut. And it was way too small in proportion to the rest of its body. Its skin looked like it was rotting, a wooden club the size of a tree in one hand, and the bloody body of Dean Thomas in the other.

It towered over the cowering forms of Ron and Seamus. The club held high. Harry didn't like who he was going to have to save, but he knew what he had to do.

"Use a summoning charm on them, while I distract the troll." He whispered to Ginny. Fear in her eyes, she nodded. Despite Hermione and Neville protesting, he dropped the secrecy charms and walked over to the troll.

"Hey. Down here buddy." He called out to it. The grey lump lowered its club and looked at him.

"H-Harry!" Ron called out. He ignored him.

"Hi. I know you're confused. You want to know why you're in here." He spoke gently to the troll. It looked at him in confusion, trying to understand what he had just said. Finally, the troll nodded its tiny head. It set the body of Dean down.

"You were forced to come inside the castle. You were resting peacefully until you were captured, right?" Again the troll nodded its head.

"Harry! What are you doing? It wont understand you! It attacked me after five seconds of being in the same room as me!"

'Wow. Five? Lot longer patience than I have when it comes to Weasley.' Harry thought.

"Don't worry. I'll get you out of here safely. You don't have to be scared." The troll seemed to understand him.

"Harry! Don't be fooled! It'll attack right when you let your guard down! I'll protect you!" Ron shouted. He grabbed a handful of the rubble and threw it at the troll. It turned around and was readying to attack him.

Harry looked back at Ginny, she had just gotten the unconscious Seamus out of the way. Now, she was trying to summon the body of Dean over.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Harry called out. The troll stopped and looked at him. "He's just being an idiot. I know that it's hard, but try to ignore him. The troll didn't look happy about it, but he obeyed Harry's wishes.

"No! Don't! He's trying to fool you. I'll protect us!" Ron shouted. He waved his wand around frantically, high above his head. It looked like he was trying to poke someone's eye out. Sparks shot out of it and flew all over the room. Ron had no control of his magic what so ever. Each spark blew up a small portion of the already destroyed bathroom.

"See! I'm hurting him!" Ron proclaimed.

"Ron, if you want to live, shut up!" Ginny yelled. She had gotten Dean to her side. Ron saw her and glared murderously. Harry knew their charms were no longer being cast.

"So…the little death eater girl is still clinging to Harry is she?" He snarled.

"Ron…I am not clinging to Harry." The Weasley boy saw Neville and Hermione.

"And she's poisoned the minds of the mud blood and the squib too. Wonderful! Why haven't you gotten rid of them? They're a abomination of the wizarding world!"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. Had he gone delusional?

"They are prime examples of why only pureblooded magic is supreme! The mud blood is trying to fool everyone into thinking muggles can learn magic. But I see right through her! And the squib thinks that he will actually get anywhere in life? Hah! He can't even do magic!"

"Ron," Harry began darkly. "They were able to turn the match into a needle on the first class! You have yet to even do anything to it. Your matches apparently end up discarded across the entire school!"

"Who cares! School is stupid anyway! I'll be rich and famous even without school! My best friend is the boy who lived after all." He said with a grin.

Harry shook his head and let out a sigh filled with exasperation and annoyance. The boy was never going to learn. He then turned to the troll, who was sitting down, watching the show.

"I'll send you to the forbidden forest. You'll be safe there." The troll nodded happily. Harry waved his wand, and the troll rose from the floor. Harry gently directed him through the broken window, curtsey of Ron, and let him down at the forest's edge. The troll raised its club high towards him, turned around, and walked into the forest. It was now safe from Dumbledore.

"Harry! Ron said in slight annoyance. "Why'd you do that? We could have hung his head right over the Gryffindor fireplace!"

"Ron. I give up on you. You're lazy. You're selfish. You don't have any care about your future. Do you really think the world will hand you everything on a silver platter?"

"No! It'll be a golden one at least!" Ron shouted in happiness that Harry was finally understanding. Maybe Ginny's evil mind control could be dispelled! And then he could take his rightful place in Gryffindor!

"Ron, Hermione may be muggleborn, but she'll be far greater than you'll ever be. She could become minister of magic if she wanted. You on the other hand have no chance of graduating first year if you keep this up. And Neville is not a squib. He has far more magic and talent than you. He'll go far. Way farther than you. He can decide on anything he wants to do in the future. You'll be lucky if you even have a future."

"Of course I have a future! Everyone will line up for a chance to glimpse the best friend of the boy who lived."

"And what about Ginny? She has more magic than all of us! She is amazing. She can do anything she puts her mind to. She tries to help anyone who wants it. She is patient and curious about the world. She always wants to find out new things. She has accomplished so much and is only ten! She got into Hogwarts a year early because of her determination. I am glad to call her my best friend."

"A best friend who is dark and evil and is controlling your mind? Hah! Sorry Ginevra, but I am Harry's best friend. You're only using him."

"She's only using me? For what?"

"Your fame and money of course!"

"And you?"

"I'm your best friend!"

"What would have happened if I wasn't the boy who lived? Would you still be my best friend? What would have happened if I wasn't rich? If I wasn't famous? Would you still be my best friend?"

Before Ron had the chance to answer, the doors opened. In flew the staff.

"What happened here? Why aren't you all down in the Great Hall?" Minevra asked worried.

"I just defeated the troll and saved Harry and the school! Ron boasted proudly.

"And where is the defeated body of said troll Mr. Weasley?" Professor Flitwick asked logically.

"I-I was so great, that I disintegrated the body!" Ron answered.

"Yeah…sure…and Mr. Potter and Longbottom, Miss Weasley and Granger, what really happened?" The tiny wizard asked.

"Now, now Filius. I have no doubt that Mr. Weasley was telling the truth." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"Mr. Weasley and his friends have no potential to destroy the body of a mountain troll what so ever." Snape said. "They cannot even heat up water in their cauldrons, much less disintegrate such a creature."

"Yes…they have not even bothered with any assignment I give." McGonagal added.

"Now…see here-" the Headmaster said, his eyes beginning to dim.

"We are asking the students who actually pay attention in class Albus." Professor Flitwick said sternly. Albus's eyes lost all twinkles.

"Well sir, we were going to stay in the hall like you asked. But then we saw Professor Quirrel going the opposite direction from the dungeons." Harry began.

We went after him to ask why. We followed him but soon we lost his trail. Then, we headed back down when we found the troll attacking Ron, Seamus, and Dean." Hermione continued.

"Harry talked to the troll while Ginny summoned Ron, Seamus, and Dean to her." Neville said.

"And then, Ron started acting up. He angered the troll by throwing rubble at it. But Harry was able to calm it down and used a levitation charm to send it into the forest." Ginny finished.

"Mr. Potter, I am ashamed. Why did you let it loose into the forest?" Dumbledore asked.

"Sir, I released it back into the wild. It will hopefully be able to take care of itself. I was mainly trying to get it away from Ron's fat mouth."

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw for disobeying orders!" Dumbledore commanded. Interesting how he didn't take points from Neville and Hermione, they were Gryffindor after all. He turned to Ron and said, "And twenty points to Gryffindor for protecting these foolhardy students." He turned, levitated the unconscious Dean and Seamus, and walked out, followed by a happy Ron and most of the staff.

McGonagal, Flitwick, and Snape stayed behind.

"We believe you." McGonagal said.

"There is no possible way a dunderhead like him could have destroyed a full grown mountain troll." Snape commented.

"And that'll be ten points to each of you for telling the truth. And forty from those three for lying to their teachers." Flitwick replied happily. "Excellent work on releasing the troll rather than leaving a mess for Mr. Filch to clean up."

They all left and headed to the Great Hall to finish their meals, looking forward to Dumbledore's face when he saw the points.

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"Okay Harry. Are you ready to learn about Quidditch?" Ginny asked once they were back in their common room. She had checked a Quidditch book out of the library since Harry loved to read.

"Sure am." Came the reply. Ginny opened the book.

"Okay. There are seven players on each team. There are usually reserve players as well for those who cannot play. There is three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, and finally the Seeker."

"Three Chasers, a Keeper, two Beaters, and a Seeker…right?"

"Right. Now then, there are three types of balls and there are four total." She pointed to a picture of a large red one. "This is called the Quaffle. The Chasers handle the ball and try to throw it through one of the three hoops on either end. The Keeper, defends the hoops. It's ten points for each successful score."

"Okay. What are those?" Harry asked, pointing to a picture of two black spheres.

"These guys, are Bludgers. They soar around the field, trying to hit as many players as possible. The Beaters use bats to try and hit the Bludgers at the other team's players."

"Have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked.

"A few have died in the world cups. But ninety nine percent of the time, it's just injuries." Ginny informed him. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, what's next?" He asked.

And the last player is the Seeker." She pointed to a golden walnut sized ball with wings. "The Seeker's job is to catch the Snitch. Once they do, their team gets a hundred and fifty points and the game ends."

"But then, doesn't it seem sort of pointless to have the other players if the Seeker gets a hundred and fifty points in one go?" Harry asked logically.

"I understand why you'd ask that. A lot of wizards never think about that. But anyway, the Snitch is wicked fast and nearly impossible to see. There is also seven hundred ways to make a Quidditch foul. And they are also the most targeted during games."

"I suppose that evens it out a bit but still…"

"I know. But that's the way Quidditch is. And we have a shot at becoming the youngest players in a century! First years are never even allowed to try out! We are the exception Harry! We need to show them what we can do!"

"But we'll still focus on our studies…right?" he asked. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Duh!" She smirked. "So, what position are you going to try out for?"

"I'm not sure yet. Seeker sounds fun…and so does Chaser."

"I'm going to tryout for Chaser. I'm small so that makes me pretty fast on a broom."

"You were the fastest at practice Ginny." He commented.

"Course I was!" She said making a pose. They laughed. "Now, let's get some sleep. Tryouts are tomorrow! And we don't want to upstage the others too much right?"

"Right." He said with a smile.

"You figure out what positions you want to try out for. And we'll discuss it in the morning on our jog."

They said goodnight to each other and fell asleep in their beds, awaiting what events would come in the morning.

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The morning light slowly crawled into the sky. Harry and Ginny were found jogging around the lake. They were doing seven laps now easy.

When they finished, Ginny asked the big question.

"So what position are you doing?" Harry smirked.

"You'll find out at the tryouts. And I haven't thought about it at all so don't try going through our memories."

Ginny pouted. "Prat." She muttered. They walked into the Great Hall and sat down to eat breakfast. They were the only ones there, not even the teachers had woken up yet. Soon, Hermione and Neville came down as well. Seeing that there was no one else around, they sat down to eat at the Ravenclaw table.

"So…are you guys ready?" Hermione asked.

"Sure am." They replied together.

"What are you trying out for?" Neville asked.

"I'm going for Chaser…but Harry wont tell what he's after." She fake glared at him.

"Tryouts are in two hours! You can learn to be patient."

"No way!" She played along.

"Well…um…Hermione and I are going to come down to watch you guys."

"Great! Thanks you guys!" Ginny said.

"We will need the support. The youngest that are trying out besides us are third years." Harry commented.

"I still cant believe you two could end up the youngest players in a century!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Could?" They asked together.

"Okay Mr. and Mrs. Cocky. Let's get you to finish your breakfast so you can get ready. Ravenclaw was forced to get the last tryout date so your team has the least amount of practice time. You need to be prepared." Hermione added. They all finished.

"Let's do this." Harry said.

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Two hours later, we find ourselves down at the Quidditch field. Hermione and Neville had the secrecy charms placed on them and were now hidden in the stands. The Ravenclaws wouldn't be too happy if they found out that Gryffindor was spying on them.

It had been kept secret that Harry and Ginny were trying out. Only the Ravenclaw captain, Mark DeGani, had been informed and had been sworn to secrecy. So naturally, the thirty other Ravenclaws that had shown up were surprised and a bit outraged that two first years were trying out.

Mark was obviously perfect for his role as a beater. He was large and muscular. He had dirty blond hair and brown eyes that looked straight into your soul. His appearance was intimidating but he was nice.

If you made him mad however…look out for that bat he carried.

Mark shut them up when he threatened the next person to comment angrily at Harry and Ginny would be immediately kicked off the team, whether they were selected or not.

While everyone else was yawning and muttering sleepily. Harry and Ginny were wide awake, listening to every word the captain said.

"So I will be placing you through some basic drills first before we start the selection process. I want you all in groups of three. You will go around the pitch once, so I can see how well you can fly."

Soon three at a time were flying. Harry, Ginny, and an arrogant fifth year named Thomas Merkin were soaring together. The fifth year was trying to sabotage Harry and Ginny. He kept bumping into them, threatening to knock them off the horrid school brooms they had borrowed.

Harry and Ginny had the last laugh however, when a perfectly timed dodge sent Merkin crashing into one of the audience towers surrounding the field.

When they landed, everyone was gaping at them. A few of Merkin's pals were stomping over to lash at them. Mark sent them muttering onto the stands, along with the others who had lost their chance by threatening Harry and Ginny. After all that had been forced away, only twenty remained. But only six of them could stay.

"Okay then…now I want you all to separate into the position you are going to try out for. I am a Beater so there will be only one of you that will be that position. Beaters to my far left. Keepers to my near left. Chasers to my far right. And Seekers to my near right. Now…separate!"

It was a traffic jam. Everyone was trying to push each other out of the way to get to their spot. Harry and Ginny showed their Ravenclaw minds by walking around the massive crowd.

Soon enough, everyone had found there spot. Ginny looked at the Beaters. Eight muscular teens stood. Many of them looking arrogant and cocky. Ginny could see the one who did not stand like the others. He stood, listening to the captain. Not joking around. He was sure to get the position, talent or no talent. She looked at Mark, he seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.

Harry was not in the group of Beaters. So she looked to the Keepers. Three stood, facing the captain. One female. The other two male. They looked like they'd all be very good at blocking but they did not seem arrogant like a few Beater wanna-bees she could mention. Harry was yet again not in that group.

She looked to the group of Seekers. There stood four teens in all. Once again, this group was a mixture. Some looked arrogant. Some looked humble. One girl stood out. She had long black hair. She was very pretty, but Ginny saw something in her eyes. Greed, desire. She could not tell what it was. But there was something in them. She was looking at something, something right next to her. Ginny turned.

It was Harry.

"H-Harry?" she stuttered.

"G-Ginny." He laughed.

"You're going for chaser too?"

"Sure am. That way we can work together even more."

"But I thought you were leaning more towards Seeker."

"I was thinking about it. Really hard. My final choices were Seeker or Chaser. I read that book some more and I fell asleep in the middle of the night. When I woke up, I was on the page of Chaser. That was when I made my choice."

"Well…er…congrats. We will be the chasers."

"You two? Hah! Don't make me laugh." Came a voice from behind them. They turned around and found two seventh years towering over them. These guys were huge. They looked like they were on steroids. Ginny saw a boy who looked very shy standing near them. He looked like a twin of one of the beaters.

"You don't have what it takes to be chasers." Said the guys pal. "I don't know what Flitwick was thinking, letting you two babies try out."

"And who are you?" Harry asked.

"I'm Sam Darwon." Said the taller of the two.

"And I'm Harold Yelit" Said the more muscular of the two. "And little kids aren't allowed on our team."

"Interesting, you're only brave enough to talk to us while Mark is on the other side of the field." Ginny said.

"Please! I can't even figure out why that crackpot of a teacher made Mark captain, with us being so much better players." Harold snorted.

"Mark is way better than you two!" Harry shouted.

"This is his first year as captain! And he got onto the team just last year. We've been on this team for five years!" Sam said.

"Our pal Josh graduated last year so he's not the captain anymore!" Sam whined. "And he's always been the captain!"

"So the only reason you've been on the team was because this Josh kept playing favorites." Ginny commented darkly.

"No! We've been on the team for so long cause we are completely awesome!" Harold boasted.

"Well then…if you're so good, how come Ravenclaw's come in dead last for the past five years, ever since this Josh has been captain?" Harry asked.

"That's cause the other teams always cheated!" Sam threatened. "They always played unfair! The judges always played favorites too! But Josh is gone now! And we're going to uphold the traditions he's made for this team!"

"That stupid Mark's put our team of five years in the stands!" Harold muttered. "We aren't going anywhere. And we're not going to let some stupid kids mess up our team!"

"Let's see how well you can do when the captain's not playing favorites." Ginny said as Mark came to try out the Chasers.

"Okay, so we've got the Beaters picked. Now we'll do you. Each of you will go one at a time. You will try to shoot the Quaffle into the hoops. You'll get ten tries. Understand?"

"Why do we have to do all this nonsense?" Sam snapped.

"It's two seventh years against two first years. It's clear who is better." Harold snarled.

"Well then…you two shouldn't have any problems." Mark answered. "We will let Sam go first."

"Fine!" He said darkly. He got on his broom and soared up into the sky with the Quaffle. He sped towards the hoops. He threw the ball. It soared straight to the right. It wasn't anywhere near the hoops.

"That's one down. You still have nine chances left." Mark called out.

"Shut up!" Sam yelled. The second throw. It veered to the left.

Third throw it banged against the pole…thirty feet below the hoops. Fourth throw…it wasn't even worth describing.

Fifth, it was the first to actually come close. The sixth throw…there wasn't any power in it.

Seventh , it soared past the side of the hoop. Eighth, it banged against the top of the golden hoop.

Ninth. It actually soared into the goal. The tenth wasn't as lucky as its predecessor.

"And Sam finishes with a total of one point."

"No fair! Give me another go!"

"You've had your try!" Mark yelled back at him. "Harold…you're up!"

Harold Yelit soared into the air. Like his pal, he did not do very well.

The first four shots weren't even close.

The fifth made it into the hoop. The sixth was shot at Mark, who dodged with ease.

On the seventh, Harold dropped the ball before he even threw it. The eighth scored.

The ninth was sent flying backwards. Harold was so mad he slammed the ball straight at the flying forms of Harry and Ginny.

Like Mark, they dodged the poorly thrown ball aimed way off its target. That was declared the tenth shot.

"And Harold finishes with two points." Mark announced.

"Like they could do any better!" Harold snarled.

"Let's see. Ginny…you're up!" Mark yelled as he passed the ball to her.

Ginny was a perfect Chaser. She shot straight past everything. She was a blur. No one could even see her until she stopped. The first goal was made in less than a second. Everyone's mouth was dropped open. Except for Harry. He already knew that that wasn't even close to how fast Ginny could fly.

The second was just as fast as the first, as was the third. The both made their mark and Ginny found herself with three points in less than ten seconds.

The fourth came blazing by. As did the fifth and sixth. The seventh, was the first one Ginny threw that didn't make its mark. It was made up by the last three shots.

"And Ginny finishes with nine points!" Mark called out, amazed at the first year. "And now…our last Chaser…Harry!"

Harry caught the ball as he flew towards his position. He stared at the three hoops. They stood so innocently. Waiting. Harry knew what he had to do. He shut his eyes and soared straight. The wind rushed past his face, messing up his already messy hair. The time to throw was coming. He could count down the seconds.

Five…four…three…two…one…he threw it.

His eyes opened. There was the red ball…soaring clearly through the sky…and flawlessly fell into the middle hoop.

All was silent. Harry soared down and picked up the ball. He needed two more points to win. He flew back to his position. Once more, he flew…this time…with his eyes open. He shot…and it bounced loudly off the pole. He had eight more tries to score two points. He soared and threw it the third time. It missed once more. Fourth he scored. He was tied with Harold. He could not let that happen. He was going to change that. He needed just one more point. There were six more chances to prove himself.

He could not lose. He would not lose.

On the fifth throw…it was just about to land into the hoop, when suddenly it veered to the right. Harry looked around. Something was wrong here. He was Mark glaring around suspiciously as well. The sixth throw it went straight, when suddenly, it turned around and tried to hit him! He quickly dodged.

"Okay! That is enough! Sam! Harold! Stop!" Mark roared.

"He's so obviously not right for the team!" Harold yelled.

"He's only made two scores!" Sam added.

"One more than you! And if you two would stop waving your wands around, Harry would be scoring every time! Hand them over to me!"

"What!"

"No way!"

"NOW!" Mark screamed. He wrestled for their wands.

"Get off!"

"We need those to stop him from scoring!"

"Mark! Look!" Ginny yelled.

All three of them stopped fighting. A red dot flew through the air. It soared gracefully. And landed clean into a hoop of gold.

"NO!" Both Harold and Sam yelled. They aimed their wands at Harry."

"Cru-" They yelled.

"Stupefy!" Mark yelled.

"Stupefy!" Ginny screamed.

The two stunners sailed right into the two. They fell off their brooms. Mark caught them at the last second.

Flitwick was running onto the pitch.

"What's going on here!" He asked sternly as he saw the two unconscious bodies.

"They tried to use a Unforgivable on Harry!" Mark yelled. Flitwick grabbed their wands and checked them. His eyes held a raging fire when he looked up.

"They're going straight to Azkaban. And all over a position in a game. Pathetic!" He levitated the two bodies. "Is Harry alright?"

"I'm fine professor." He said as he flew down.

"I am glad you are safe. I will be taking these two to the headmaster. You continue the tryouts. You wont have to worry about these two anymore." He turned around and left.

"Harry! Are you okay?" Ginny shrieked as she ran to hug him.

"I'm alright. Thanks to you and Mark."

"I'm really sorry Harry. Those two have always been stupid gits. But this…"

"No one's hurt. That's all that matters." Harry said. "Now…lets finish the tryouts."

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Thirty minutes later the team had been decided.

Beaters were Mark DeGani and Greg Martin. Keeper was Lucy Splia. Chasers were Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, and the shy boy named Paul Martin. And the Seeker was the pretty girl Ginny had seen staring at Harry. Something was stirring inside of her stomach.

Ginny Weasley learned a new thing that day. Jealousy.

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Wow! So much has happened in this chapter. The troll was released into the wild. Ron is still a complete idiot and doesn't understand that Harry is not his friend. The Quidditch tryouts were insane so what about the actual matches? And now we have finally broken the eighty thousand word wall!

And now…spoilers of the next chapter! Think about what could happen now!

Could the Quidditch match be next? And what about the stone? Do the challenges below and find out next chapter!

Thanks To…

Zarkan aspiretobe mdauben nightwing 509

Professor Chirs buddygirl1004 alexrc55 nellstyx12

Vegitunks1 Serenova Comet Jim Vexit

Thawk6 Madmax lysen5972 benperez31

VizeekLord im100HPGWandRWHG dead1a moonofstarlessnight

FanofAllThingsFictionall NUDGELOVER flightofthephoenix.86 godofall

Miss Millie pokemonHogwarts4eva Electrometal murdrax

Mei fa-chan DanielWhite azphxbrd Mrs. Yaya

Kadude13

Thanks To…

Electrometal-both chaser

Miss millie- chaser

NUDGELOVER-chaser

Moonofstarlessnight-chaser

Im100HPGWandRWHG-chaser, troll

Benperez31-chaser, Quidditch

Lysen5972-chaser

Madmax-chaser,troll

Vegitunks1-chasers

Buddygirl1004-go to 3rd floor

Mdauben-chasers

Aspiretobe-chasers

Challenges

1. What will they do about the stone?

2. Will Dumbledore find out the stone is gone?

3. Will any of the staff find out the stone is gone? If so…who?

See you all next chapter.

SuperXBrother.


	20. A Magical Talk

Finally! This chapter has now been rewritten and vastly improved. And now this story has reached the twentieth chapter. Last episode of Lord and Lady Phoenix, Harry and Ginny survived the horrors of Halloween…along with a mountain troll and braved the dangers of Quidditch tryouts. In this episode, Harry and Ginny will meet someone very special…and old.

Find out right now! Read on!

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty**

November rolled in slowly and dramatically. After the fiasco that was the end of October, Harry and Ginny wouldn't be surprised if yet another catastrophe happened to them. It wasn't that they looked for trouble. Trouble usually always found them.

No one knew that two first years were on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. All that was known was two seventh years had been arrested for practicing extremely dangerous dark magic. Some reporters from the Daily Profit camped outside the entrance for two days until the professors reluctantly told them the version known to ninety nine percent of the school.

Harry and Ginny practiced in secret every night, hidden in the shadows. Their captain, Mark was extremely impressed with the talents they possessed, especially at such a young age. He guaranteed that they would have teams begging for them to join once their skills were revealed.

On nights where they did not practice Quidditch, Harry and Ginny instead practiced furthering their knowledge. They spent almost every single, available night in the library. The two had just started the fifth year book of spells last week and had covered the first six chapters since. The golden phoenixes Ardoris and Soleil watched over them in total concealment form Dumbledore. The birds were keeping a lookout incase someone was…up to something. After another half hour of studying, Ardoris said,

'Harry…Ginny? I think you two should head off to bed.' He said telepathically.

'Okay. Okay. We'll get to bed.' Harry appeased the know it all birds. He looked at his best friend. "Ginny?"

The red head looked at him after they put away the last of their books. "Hang on a second. I want to check something." She walked over to the gigantic reference book that showed where every book resided.

"What are you looking for?" He asked her. Ginny, still flipping through the many dusty pages, replied two words through their connected minds.

'The Stone.' She stopped abruptly on page one thousand eight hundred and sixty five. She ran her finger down the dozens of faded names. Finally, she stopped. One second passed. The next the enormous, old book was snapped shut and Ginny rushed off. Harry, Ardoris, and Soleil rushed after her. Had it not been for her red mane of hair flying round the corners, they would have lost her in the maze of bookshelves.

After a long hunt, the found the petite girl clutching a tiny black book. The dust on in was layered in dust. It could have been layered atop each other for hundreds of years. Her eyes were fixed on one certain spot.

'Harry,' Ginny squeaked through their minds. 'This is it.'

'What's it?' He and both of the birds asked along with the ancient elders hidden away inside their minds.

'The…Sor…' she stuttered. She took a deep breathe. Emerald eyes clashed with chocolate ones concerning what could be a matter of life or death. 'The Sorcerer's Stone.' She thought quietly.

'NO!' The elders screamed from the depths of their imaginations. Harry and Ginny jumped at the outburst.

'Your serious.' Harry thought to her. Both of them knew the answer already. She could only nod her head gravely. 'Yes. Look here.'

He walked over to her and gazed at the barely legible ink atop the moth eaten pages. The picture next to the words did nothing but confirm their suspicions. It was an exact match to the stone they had won from the mirror hidden miles beneath the Cerberus.. The stone now placed in Harry's trunk.

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Albus Dumbledore walked down his secret passageway to bypass all the spells and enchantments cast to protect the stone. He needed to move the mirror to its temporary home. He entered the last room and gazed down the stairs and into the mirror. He saw his heart's desire through the glass and placed a shaking, wrinkled hand against the cool material.

'No,' he thought, calming himself. 'Soon. Very…very soon.' He pulled out his wand and tapped the Mirror of Erised. One second later, the fires had extinguished and the room was barren.

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Harry and Ginny walked inside of Harry's trunk. Ginny was amazed at how much space was on the inside. She had read about magical trunks, but this!

Harry led Ginny and the phoenixes over to the Library.

"Well? Where's the stone?" Ginny asked him. He smirked at her. "Think about when we met."

Ginny thought back. What had happened? She searched her past. Then she remembered. She reached for a certain book, the one Harry had been reading when they crashed into each other. She looked amongst the many books. She felt drawn to a certain one. She reached up and pulled out a brown, leather bound one. One the cover, written in curly writing, was the words, Waldo the Great. 

At once, a pedestal rose out from the floor beside them. Atop it was a small, wooden box with a rusty lock attached.

"I put a blood magic charm on the box. Only a Potter can open it. Anyone else and they would be seriously humiliated, should they ever be able to leave my trunk." Harry explained.

'What would happen?' Godric asked, curious at what humiliation his descendent could come up with.

"Should anyone open the box, you'll find out. Ginny, promise me you will not come near that box."

"I promise." Ginny answered.

"Good. Now then…" Harry scraped his finger against the hard wood of the box and placed a few drops of blood onto the rusty lock. The box opened slowly, inside was a tiny, blood-red stone.

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Albus appeared in his office. He had just placed the mirror inside the small room. He walked over to one of the many closets lining the large, circular room. Inside one of these was a very peculiar magical object. It was this very object that Albus was pertaining over. Christmas was only one month away and would be the perfect excuse to give the object to the boy.

The boy, being immature and carefree like all eleven year olds are, would use it and sneak around the castle. He, being subtle, would guide the boy to the chamber that he would place the mirror. He would slowly lead the boy to want to find out more about the Stone. The idiot, Hagrid, would easily babble about Nicolas Flamel and the stone.

'Yes,' The headmaster thought. 'My plan is foolproof.'

Had only the headmaster check the mirror, would he have known that the stone was missing.

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Harry and Ginny were now eating in the great hall. They were, as usual, the first there. Not even the teachers were awake yet. What was not usual, was Hermione and Neville up at five in the mourning. The two Gryffindors had been asked by their Ravenclaw friends to join them in the great hall really early in the mourning to discuss something of utmost importance.

As usual, the Phoenixes kept a watchfully, invisible eye on things from high above.

Hermione yawned and then said, "Hey guys. So what's so important that we need to discuss it at five in the mourning?"

"One sec Hermione." Ginny said. She and Harry pulled out their wands and cast the usual spells to prevent anyone from overhearing them. Hermione and Neville rolled their eyes. They were used to Harry and Ginny casting their "bubble" for all private conversations.

"Okay, now can you two tell us what's going on before I fall asleep?" Neville asked with a smile on his face.

Harry and Ginny began explaining what had happened concerning the Stone. They had already told their friends about the secret passage and the mirror. When they finished, Hermione's and Neville's eyes almost popped out of their heads.

"HE'S HIDING A SORCERER'S STONE FROM DARK WIZARDS IN A SCHOOL FULL OF STUDENTS!" Hermione screeched. Had the "bubble" not been cast, every window in the great hall, and quite possibly Hogwarts, would have been shattered.

"Yes. He is." Harry said quietly, his hands still clamped over his ears from his friend's impossibly loud voice.

"And he thinks no one will be the wiser?" Neville asked.

"Yep. Pretty much." Ginny replied.

"And to think I used to look up to the git!" Hermione raged, although much, much quieter than before.

"But what we don't know, is his motivation for putting the stone in a school." Harry said.

"We know he wants Harry under his control. But what is the point of having Harry go through all those stupid challenges?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe to see how powerful Harry is." Neville suggested. "But we have the advantage since he doesn't know we've already gotten the stone. Hey…Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I know you want privacy from everyone and everything, but can we lower the shields for a couple of seconds so the elves can give us some food to eat? I don't know about you guys, but I am starving."

"Me too." Ginny added.

"Okay. But for only a few seconds. I want to tell you guys something else."

"Thanks Harry." Neville said.

He and Ginny lowered the shields and soon the elves came carrying trays full of food. After thanking the creatures, the bubble was quickly cast once again. They were happily munching away as Harry brought up the next topic.

"I'm suspicious about Quirrel. There's something off about him." Harry started.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Every single D.A.D.A. class when I look at him, my scar starts burning."

"Do you think it might have something to do with You Know Who?" Hermione asked, remembering how she read about that dark night when the Dark Lord vanished.

"I think so. Ginny, remember when we were spying on Dumbledore last week?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah. He was talking about the dark lord in the present tense!" The red head realized.

"So…he's still alive?" Neville asked.

"Dumbledore never truly said it, but he kept talking to himself about using me to get to You Know Who." Harry recalled.

"So what does this have to do with Professor Quirrel?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking a bit.

"I'm not completely sure. But one time I heard Professor Quirrel talking with someone when I was passing the D.A.D.A. Room." Harry remembered. "I stopped and listen when I heard him say master. He sounded scared about something. Terrified. He kept apologizing and begging this master for forgiveness for his failure. It was like his life was depending on some mission or something. I didn't hear anyone else in the room talking." Harry paused. "I hid myself when he left the room, his face was twitching severely."

"Doesn't it always?" Neville joked.

"I mean, seriously…way more than normal. It was like he had just been tortured or something. After he left, I looked inside, no one was there." Harry corrected himself.

"So what your saying is Quirrel might be possessed or something?" Ginny asked.

"I think so. There definitely was not anyone else in that room but Quirrel kept calling him master. Hagrid was talking to someone else when McGonagal and I walked over to him in Diagon Alley. I think they were talking about You Know Who. He said this exactly, "Some say he died. Codswallop in my opinion. I don' reckon there was enough human left for him to die."

"So what's left of You Know Who from that night, is possessing Professor Quirrel right now!" Hermione shrieked.

"It makes sense." Neville said. "Why else would Quirrel call someone master when there isn't anyone in the room? And sharing a mind with someone for this long is sure to do something to you."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other nervously for a second.

"Yeah." Harry agreed.

"Especially with someone as twisted as that." Ginny commented.

"Of course. Since You Know Who cast the spell that rebounded, it might've created a connection between you two! That could be why you scar hurts every time you see Professor Quirrel! I wonder if You Know Who knows about this connection."

A void of silence washed over all of them. The students, the phoenixes, as well as the elders. If that was true, Lord Voldemort could have access to thousands and possibly millions of years of knowledge. All he had to do was break into either Harry's or Ginny's mental wall and he could…he would…

"We can't let him know about the access!" Harry shouted.

"It would be catastrophic!" Ginny screamed.

And then, Hermione asked the question all of them were silently thinking.

"So…what do we do now?"

"We need to find out as much as possible about this stone." Neville said.

"I've got it right here." Harry said, pulling the stone casually out of his pocket. The others stared at it. It didn't look that important, but looks were always deceiving.

Ginny pulled out the book that held info on the stone from her book bag. She opened to a page she had dog eared.

"The Sorcerer's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold and produces the elixir of life, when drunken regularly will make one self immortal." Ginny read.

"It all fits!" Neville exclaimed. You Know Who would use the stone to come back to life, to become strong again."

"But it is not the best way to come back. He would be solely dependent on the stone." Hermione thought out loud.

"If someone stole it or it was destroyed, he would die again…or rather revert back to what little bit of life he is right now.

Silence once again washed over the group. Before they could continue, footsteps of the early rising staff and students could be heard above. Our group decided to continue their conversation later.

The bubble went down not two seconds before Albus Dumbledore walked into the hall.

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Albus had many talents. He was extremely intelligent, he was cunning, and he was the most powerful sorcerer in the entire world. And despite his infinite achievements, he was not satisfied. Despite the vast collection of knowledge he had…collected…there were still things that eluded his grasp.

The main issue was that boy "Stone." There was no record alive that mentioned any wizarding family named Stone. The boy's powers rivaled even his own! He had to find a way to place the boy under his control.

The boy could even possibly be the heir of Merlin. If he were, Albus could kill two birds with one stone.

For the most part, all was going according to plan. Severus still was acting on the rivalry with James Potter. The Stone was secure. The cloak would be given to the boy on Christmas. Quirrel was unsuspecting. And soon, very soon, the boy would go down the trapdoor and face Voldemort.

He entered the Great Hall. There sat those four students. All seemed normal.

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Far on the outskirts in the woods, in a small cottage, an very, very old man was reading the mourning paper. All was calm. Then, the doorbell rang.

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**Thanks To**

Harry Ginny and Daphne

Kadude13

Nudgelover

Nightwing509

Tman12345

Azphxbrd

Nightwing27

Thawk6

God of all

Im100HPGWandRWHG

Vampirefan900

Vegitunks1

Mdauben

Buddygirl004

Professor Chris

Mei fa-chan

Miss Millie

Beast 1989

The Spiked Dragon

MRSYAYA

Benperez31

DanielWhite

Murdrax

DreamsWhisperDukeBrymin

PhoenixWytch

Taeniaea

**Challenges**

**1. Which member of the staff will find out about the stone first?**

**2. What will happen at the Flamel house?**


	21. Missing

You guys are simply one word. AMAZING! This story has received over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND VIEWS! Thank you to everyone who has supported this story.

And on a side note, I'm American so I've grown up hearing the name, The Sorcerer's Stone. So that's what I'm going to call it. If you prefer Philosopher's Stone, just switch the two words around.

And now, on with the twenty first chapter of the Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone!

_Previously on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_"The Sorcerer's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold and produces the elixir of life, when drunken regularly will make one self immortal." Ginny read._

_"It all fits!" Neville exclaimed. You Know Who would use the stone to come back to life, to become strong again."_

_"But it is not the best way to come back. He would be solely dependent on the stone." Hermione thought out loud._

_"If someone stole it or it was destroyed, he would die again…or rather revert back to what little bit of life he is right now._

_Silence once again washed over the group. Before they could continue, footsteps of the early rising staff and students could be heard above. Our group decided to continue their conversation later._

_The bubble went down not two seconds before Albus Dumbledore walked into the hall._

_TLLP: TS TLLP:TS TLLP: TS TLLP:TS TLLP: TS TLLP:TS_

_Albus had many talents. He was extremely intelligent, he was cunning, and he was the most powerful sorcerer in the entire world. And despite his infinite achievements, he was not satisfied. Despite the vast collection of knowledge he had…collected…there were still things that eluded his grasp._

_The main issue was that boy "Stone." There was no record alive that mentioned any wizarding family named Stone. The boy's powers rivaled even his own! He had to find a way to place the boy under his control._

_The boy could even possibly be the heir of Merlin. If he were, Albus could kill two birds with one stone._

_For the most part, all was going according to plan. Severus still was acting on the rivalry with James Potter. The Stone was secure. The cloak would be given to the boy on Christmas. Quirrel was unsuspecting. And soon, very soon, the boy would go down the trapdoor and face Voldemort._

_He entered the Great Hall. There sat those four students. All seemed normal._

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_Far on the outskirts in the woods, in a small cottage, an very, very old man was reading the mourning paper. All was calm. Then, the doorbell rang._

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty One**

**Missing**

Today was it. It was the famous first game of the Quidditch season. The two playing teams were Gryffindor and Slytherin. Their rivalry was one of legends. This game would be one for the record books.

Everyone in Gryffindor and Slytherin had come down to the Quidditch pitch to support their team. There weren't as many in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw due to the fact that their teams weren't playing. One end of the numerous stands lining the field shined scarlet. At the other end, the color emerald was blazing.

Almost everyone in Hogwarts had come.

Almost.

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Two people hiked through the thick woods. They had only one destination in their minds and nothing was going to stop them.

One of the two held up a small stick. He mumbled, "Point Me." The wooden stick spun round and round like a compass until it stopped. Then it began doing circles once more.

Sighing, the twig was pocketed and the two continued on with their trek.

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Back at the pitch near the castle, one determined captain was giving his team his yearly speech.

"Okay men," He said.

"And women," Corrected one of his female teammates.

"And women," He added. "This is it."

"The big one." A red haired teenager said.

"The one we've all been waiting for."

"Be quiet you two." Said the captain. "This is the best Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it!"

He glared at each member of the team, as if to say, "Or else."

"It's time." The captain announced. "Let's win."

"They mounted their broomsticks and the door slowly opened. Sunshine poured in. The took off.

On the other end of the field, seven emerald robes soared. A small golden ball shot skyward. The game had begun.

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BOOM!

The two hikers heard a loud crash rush through the trees. They hustled over to where the noise had come from. They entered a clearing and was aghast at what they found. There, sitting right in the middle of the forest, stood a small, wooden cabin. Or rather, the ruins of a small, wooden cabin. One wall had been completely obliterated and parts of the roof had given way. The other three walls were still standing and most of the valuables inside the home did not look to be damaged.

A man in black robes stood proudly over the rubble, laughing like a maniac.

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Dumbledore sat in the staff's section of the stands. He watched intently, but not at the flying broomsticks tat swept by. No, he was searching the crowds below. Specifically at the Ravenclaw section.

(Can anyone guess why?)

He stared carefully at each and every single face in the crowd. He had used a telescope charm earlier so that he could do this with ease.

"Another ten points to Gryffindor!" Lee Jordon proclaimed. Shouts of joy shot from the scarlet parts of the crowd while curses were yelled by the emeralds. They lead the game fifty to twenty.

Dumbledore smirked. Of course Gryffindor was winning. They were his house after all.

"Ouch! And that is yet another foul Slytherin's committed." Lee Jordon announced happily amongst the masses of cheers and curses.

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The black robed man finished his hysterical laughter.

"Finally! I've finally found you! Now tell me, where is it?" He demanded.

"It is gone." A weak sounding voice mumbled.

The hyper man snorted. "Yeah sure, now I'll ask you one more time. Where is it?"

"And I'll tell you one more time. It is gone."

"You are lying." He practically screamed. "I know you have it. I demand that you give it to me and maybe I wont kill you and your wife."

"For the last time, it is gone!" The weak sounding man said. With a insane look in his eyes, the dark robed man pointed his wand towards the voice.

"Cru-"

Before the man had a chance, two stunning spells slammed into his back. He was thrown off of his perch and landed unconscious underneath the rubble.

The two hurried over to the sound of the groaning man. Half of his body was wedged underneath the broken remains of an old bookcase. One of the two cast a levitation charm while the other pulled the man out from under the wreckage.

"Wh- who are you two?" The man wheezed out.

"I'm Ginny Weasley." The first said, removing her hood.

The man nodded. He turned to the other person. "And you?"

The second one removed his hood as well. He had messy, jet black hair and emerald green eyes. On his forehead sat a jagged scar, like a bolt of lightning.

"I am Harry Potter."

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"And Terrence Higgs catches the snitch!" Jordan announce grimly. There was no doubt that Slytherin would catch the snitch. Even before he had been hit by a weak bludger two minutes in, everyone knew who would catch the golden ball. The Gryffindor Seeker had been forced into playing because there was no one else available and had little experience flying.

Jordon quickly tallied up the points.

Gryffindor had rallied up almost all of their points from the numerous fouls the Slytherin team had committed. The Lions had achieved a total of one hundred and eighty points. The Snakes on the other hand had only scored thirty points combined with the Snitch.

"And despite the Slytherin Seeker catching the Snitch," Jordan began. The Gryffindor were already starting to cheer about their victory. "Both team end the game each with a total of one hundred and eighty points. This game ends in a tie."

There were complaints and curses heard from every corner of the pitch. Many were demanding a redo of the game while others demanded that their team was the winner.

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Harry and Ginny immediately used several healing charms on the injured man. Then, once he was well enough, the three of them fixed his home. The two kids had been surprised to find out that he was really Nicolas Flammel.

Soon, the rubble had been vanished and the house was back to normal. Flammel had been alive long enough to learn many cleaning spells. Harry and Ginny were quick learners and followed what he did.

By mid-afternoon, they found themselves relaxing in the sitting room.

"Thank you for helping me." Nick said.

"You're welcome. We couldn't just stand there and let that lunatic use the Cruciatus Curse on you."

They looked over at the still form of the man, tied up in ropes, and disarmed of his wand.

"I think it is time we found out the truth from this man." Flammel said as he went into one of the cabinets. He pulled out a small vial.

"So you stock Veritaserum." Ginny commented.

"It has its uses from time to time." Flammel smirked before forcing the contents down the maniac's throat. Flammel then pointed his wand to the still man and mumbled a few words Harry nor Ginny could recognize.

The man moved slightly. His eyes bugged out when he realized the situation. He tried to break free of the ropes but they were far too strong, especially when combined with about ten spells and charms.

"Your name?" Flammel asked.

The man gave in. "Argo Malid" He muttered.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" Harry asked immediately.

"To the Dark Lord." He answered.

"Do you have the Mark?" Flammel asked.

"Sure I do." Malid replied. He pulled up his sleeve and showed them the symbol of the Death Eaters.

"Why did you come here?" Ginny demanded.

"Was sent here to get the Stone for the Dark Lord's return."

"Who sent you?" Flammel asked.

"My Lord."

"Does he know where the Stone is?" Harry asked. The lump in his pocket gained a few tons.

"No. He is possessing one of the teachers to spy on Dumbledore to see if he knows where the Stone is. My Lord sent me to search for Flammel, to see if he held the Stone."

"The potion only lasts a few minutes." Flammel told the kids. "And we need to Obliviate him and get him far away from here so he cant find us again."

A second later, Malid shook his head, shaking of the last of the Veritaserum.

"Hey! Let me out of this now! You're going to tell me where the Stone is now or else-"

"Obliviate." Flammel said calmly.

Malid's eyes glazed over. Flammel ripped the Death Eater's sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark to the world and then grabbed his shoulder.

"I'll be right back." He and Malid left with a pop.

Harry and Ginny faced each other.

"Voldy doesn't even know where the Stone is!" Ginny gasped.

"He's just there as a lookout. And to spy on Dumbledore, see if he can find any of the old man's weaknesses." Harry said.

A familiar pop marked the return of Nick.

"I left him in front of the Ministry entrance. But they'll most likely still try to cover that story up."

"Mr. Flammel, we have something very important to tell you." Ginny said evenly.

"Yes?" The ancient man asked.

"We've come to return the Stone to you." Harry informed him.

"WHAT?" He shouted. Harry pulled the blood red stone out of his pocket and handed it over to a pale faced Flammel.

"It is your's after all. We wanted to make sure it was back in the right hands."

"How…how did you find it? It was stolen from me months ago!"

"Stolen?" Harry and Ginny asked.

Flammel nodded grimly. "Yes stolen. Can you please tell me your side of the story first?"

And so, they did.

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Even hours after the game had ended, students were complaining to their heads of houses to change the

results.

"ENOUGH!" McGonagal finally shouted combined with a Sonorus spell. "WE TIED WITH THE SLYTHERIN TEAM! NOW THE NEXT STUDENT WHO COMPLAINS WILL RECEIVE DETENTION EVERY NIGHT FOR THE REST OF THE ENTIRE YEAR! NOW GO TO BED!

A quick second later, everyone had scampered up the stairs, not wanting to provoke the strictest Hogwarts teacher any further.

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Severus Snape patrolled the thousands of halls and corridors inside of Hogwarts. Or rather, that was his excuse. He had a feeling that he needed to check out the Mirror of Erised.

Dumbledore had made it very clear that no one, absolutely no one, was to go into the room where the mirror was being temporarily kept.

Snape had once greatly respected the man, but a few hours ago, that had completely made a U turn.

He had been passing the headmaster's office, thinking about the idiot Weasley boy's latest shenanigan as well as the many complaints from his house about the Quidditch match, when he heard the Headmaster talking to himself. The Head of Slytherin had cast a notice me not charm on himself and listened in on the bearded man's declaration of his plans.

The idiot had not realized that anyone could have listened in on him proclaiming to the world about his grand master plans.

Snape's eyes widened when he heard the plot. It revolved centrally around the Potter boy and getting him under the Headmaster's control.

Snape, with many charms placed on himself to avoid the headmaster's attention, quietly opened the door and gazed at the mirror.

He stood in front of it, gazing at the haunting image forming in the cool glass.

There stood Lily Evans, the only one he had ever loved. He saw himself as well. The two in the mirror had made up and become friends again.

Snape placed a hand to the icy glass. But then immediately took it away. His deepest desire was to make amends with Lily. But that was impossible now. He had been too late and made the wrong choices. She had died before he had the chance.

But then, the image of Lily began to disappear. She faded into the glass but her emerald eyes remained.

Immediately, a new image was forming. He found those same exact eyes on the face of Lily's son. Harry.

A soft breeze came from the open window.

"I understand." Snape said. The breeze died down.

Snape then focused on finding the stone. He had watched, hidden from sight, as the Headmaster placed the Stone inside the mirror. He performed the same procedure as the headmaster.

Nothing.

He tried the same procedure. Something was not right.

Nothing.

He tried a third time, making sure that every step was performed exactly.

Nothing.

The Stone was…gone.

**A/N: **And that's the end of the twenty first chapter! Snape's found out that the Stone's missing. Harry and Ginny have met Flammel. And Voldemort doesn't really know where the Stone actually is!

What will the Flammel's reaction be? Where is Nick's wife? What will Snape do? Why am I asking you all these questions? Do the challenges below and find out next chapter!

**Thanks To…**

Nightwing509 Buddygirl1004 Taeniaea

Vexit Crazyjim87 Semnet001

Ivyshine The Spiked Dragon Kadude13

Milarqui benperez31 Mrs Yaya

ProngsandI ProfessorChris Thawk6

1sunfun Azphxbrd JakeGoldbergGrownUpsLover

God of all VampireFan900 Anna C. Black-Potter

DaneilWhite HarryandGinnyForeverAndEver NUDGELOVER

tiger lily Mei fa chan Ismeme Daughter of Athena

**Bragging Rights go to…**

Nightwing509-stone, Snape

Buddygirl1004-Snape

Kadude13-Snape, meet the Flammels

Benperez31-Snape

VampireFan900-Snape, meet the Flammels

NUDGELOVER-meet the Flammels

tiger lily-Snape

Ismeme Daughter of Athena-Death eater

**Challenges.**

**1. What will happen at the Flammel's house?**

**2. What will Snape do?**

**3. What is Dumbledore's latest plot (The one Snape just overheard)?**

**See you all next chapter.**


	22. Holiday Madness

Hello all! Welcome to the latest installment of my story. This one's a bit longer than the last few chapters. About five thousand or so. I hope that satisfies you all until the next installment.

Last chapter, Harry and Ginny saved Nickolas Flammel's life from a maniac. We also got a little tease of a Quidditch match. In this chapter, we shall finish up the Flammel episode. We shall see a full Quidditch match and glimpse the first half of Christmas.

I am proud to present to you the twenty second chapter of The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone.

_Previously on the Lord and Lady Phoenix…_

_Snape, with many charms placed on himself to avoid the headmaster's attention, quietly opened the door and gazed at the mirror._

_He stood in front of it, gazing at the haunting image forming in the cool glass._

_There stood Lily Evans, the only one he had ever loved. He saw himself as well. The two in the mirror had made up and become friends again._

_Snape placed a hand to the icy glass. But then immediately took it away. His deepest desire was to make amends with Lily. But that was impossible now. He had been too late and made the wrong choices. She had died before he had the chance._

_But then, the image of Lily began to disappear. She faded into the glass but her emerald eyes remained._

_Immediately, a new image was forming. He found those same exact eyes on the face of Lily's son. Harry._

_A soft breeze came from the open window._

_"I understand." Snape said. The breeze died down._

_Snape then focused on finding the stone. He had watched, hidden from sight, as the Headmaster placed the Stone inside the mirror. He performed the same procedure as the headmaster._

_Nothing._

_He tried the same procedure. Something was not right._

_Nothing._

_He tried a third time, making sure that every step was performed exactly._

_Nothing._

_The Stone was…gone._

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

**Holiday Madness**

"THAT RAVING LUNATIC!" Shot through the forest.

"And that's it." Ginny finished the tale. The wife of Nick, Perenelle, had come home a while ago, and was experiencing the same reactions as her husband.

"He stuns us, steals the stone, does a rushed job of obliviation where we only remember half of what happened, and now he hides the Stone…IN A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN?" Perenelle screeched.

"Yes. And I have a feeling that it is for more than just keeping Voldemort from returning." Harry continued.

"What do you…" Nick trailed off. Then, it hit him. "He wouldn't."

"He would." Ginny told him. "And he was."

"Yes, I have a feeling Dumbledore was using the Stone for it's elixir of life."

"That selfish bastard." Nick muttered to himself. "And after all that we did to help him."

"We owe you two so much for returning the Stone back to us." Perenelle began.

"Mrs. Flammel…we don't want a reward. We wanted to return the Stone to its rightful owners." Harry said. "And we could not allow Dumbledore or Voldemort to get their greedy hands on it either."

"True. But Harry, we are in your debt. We are both masters at the art of Alchemy and can help you in numerous ways. If there is anything we can help you with in the future, just let us know." Nick thanked them.

"Thank you sir." Harry and Ginny answered.

"Just one last question dears." Perenelle said.

"Yes?" Ginny asked.

"How did you know where to find where we lived?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. In the branches high above, a speck of gold shined.

"We have our ways." Harry said simply. One second later, they were gone.

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November had come to a close and old Jack Frost was making his way to Hogwarts. The air was getting colder and colder by the second. December had arrived.

The numerous hallways and corridors within Hogwarts were drafty and icy winds pounded across the grounds.

Thankfully, the Common Rooms as well as the Great Hall had giant fireplaces to warm up the frozen students and staff.

The New Marauders were pranking nearly every day now. One student from Slytherin found his ears growing at an alarming rate when he entered the Great Hall. Another from Hufflepuff had their robes turn hot pink and yellow. Dumbledore's beard had doubled in size though no one seemed to notice due to its already abnormal length.

They made sure to prank themselves once or twice as well. It might have drawn suspicion if they were the only ones in the school who were not pranked.

Harry found himself turn into a redhead. Ginny's hair turned bright blonde. Tonks's robes turned polka dot. And the Twins's skin looked like they were covered in scales.

The Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff Quidditch match was approaching quickly. After performing their daily routine of pranking and studying, Harry and Ginny snuck out onto the pitch at night to perfect their Chaser skills.

Their captain wanted to keep them a secret until the game. The opponents would become cocky and underestimate them, leading to poor defense and easy goals. While the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins slept innocently in their beds, Harry and Ginny were slowly becoming an unstoppable force as their shots soared through the golden hoops, on the ancient school brooms, every single time.

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Dumbledore sat at his desk, boasting about how truly brilliant his grand master plan really was. He reached for a bowl and plucked out a lemon drop. He sucked on it with pleasure. Soon, once his master plan was complete, he would have as many lemon drops as he wished!

In the corner of the oval office full of numerous strange trinkets, a majestic avian creature glared at his "master." The man he had once thought a friend had succumbed to the promises of power, fame, and somehow…candy.

The bird's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of a knock came into the room.

"Enter." The headmaster commanded. It was about time he showed up.

The door opened and Severus strode into the office.

"You wished to see me headmaster?" Snape asked.

"Yes Serverus. But you are five minutes late. Next time come on time."

"Of course sir. My apologies." Snape said with a forced apologetic look.

"First of all, would you care for a lemon drop?"

"No thank you sir." Snape answered.

"Alright then. Now, how are the students acting?" Albus began.

'Knew he would ask that first.' Snape thought. "They are under the impression that I am biased towards my own house. Yet they do not have the slimmest chance of even brewing the simplest of potions. The fifth years are doing far worse than the first years regrettably."

Snape knew that he was not imagining Dumbledore mutter, "Good. Very good."

"Yes. And the first years, as usual, are complete dunderheads."

"And how is young Harry performing?" Albus pressed on.

Snape decided to give Albus a little bit of a shock.

"Surprisingly, he performs much better than most of his classmates." Albus looked scared. His eyes devoid of their usual twinkles.

Snape felt a small push against his mental barriers. He saw images of Harry and his classmates creating horrid attempts at the simplest of potions.

"But still, his potions are…adequate at best." Dumbledore's face became calm. His eyes twinkling once again. A small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Very well." Albus said finally. "I think that is all I needed to hear. You may go Severus."

Snape turned around and left the office.

'I'm glad I thought of creating those fake memories before coming here. I know that I would not be able to defend my mind if he paralyzed me completely and brought on a full mental attack. Dumbledore is up to something. I will not allow him to manipulate Harry any longer. I owe Lily that. I will not treat him like I did with James. I was being an idiot. Lily will not lose her son just because Dumbledore wants power.'

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The morning of the match was rather quiet surprisingly. The entire school was wondering what could possibly happen now, considering both Slytherin and Gryffindor had tied and their was no definite leader in the Quidditch Cup.

Harry and Ginny walked down to breakfast and as usual, they were they first to arrive. Soon Hermione and Neville entered and the four began to talk of the upcoming match.

"So…when will it happen?" Neville asked.

"Mark and Greg need to get here before the owls deliver the mail." Harry said.

"It's brilliant. And there isn't a single rule that says you cannot do it." Hermione informed them. She had done her research before "allowing" them to do it.

As time went on, more and more students filled the vacant seats of the Great Hall. Mark and Greg had sat down and given them a thumbs up. Harry and Ginny gave them the same gesture.

Ten minutes later, the sounds of feathers hounded into the Hall, which quickly filled with hundreds of owls. Two handsome owls flew in, each carrying a long package.

They dropped them into the awaiting laps of Mark and Greg. The two picked up their presents and walked out of the Hall.

Five minutes later, Harry and Ginny got out of their seats, said goodbye to their friends, and walked out of the Hall to prepare for the game.

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In the Ravenclaw Common room, two first years entered.

"Hey you two. Brilliant plan." A voice called out to them. They turned and found their fellow Beaters sitting on the couch.

"And you two have told Professor Flitwick, right?" Harry asked.

"Right." Greg confirmed.

"Well, let's open them up!" Ginny said.

Bits of torn wrapping paper flew as the packages came into view. There, sitting in front of the roaring fireplace, stood two brand new broomsticks.

The one on the left was a stone white. Golden lines traced down the stick in elegant patterns.

The right one was the darkest black. It had golden patterns racing down itself as well.

"They're beautiful." Ginny gasped.

"And they are perfect for you two." Mark said.

"They aren't Nimbuses or Cleansweeps." Greg noticed. "They don't look like they're from a racing broom company at all."

"That is because they aren't" Harry told him. "These are not processed like Nimbuses and Cleansweeps. They were not made in a broomstick factory at all like every other broom these days. They were handcrafted just like it used to be."

"Processed?" Greg asked.

"That's right." Ginny said. The wizarding world is becoming lazy. Broomsticks, potions, everything these days are created without the love and care they used to be. The wizarding world is creating quantity over quality just to make more money."

"Wow." Greg said.

"These however, were made completely from scratch." Harry continued. "We found a small shop in Diagon Alley where the man running it wanted to create brooms that were matched to the rider, not unlike wands."

"How did he do that?" Mark asked.

"It's similar to how wands are created. The man gave us a choice of numerous types of material. We found the ones that matched to us and he crafted our brooms."

"So what are your brooms made from?" Greg asked.

"Mine is yew. Harry's is made of Ash. Both are lined with pure gold."

"We are sure to win." Mark proclaimed.

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"Hello everyone and welcome to the second match of the season!" Lee Jordon announced to the population of Hogwarts. "Today's match, Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw!"

In the Ravenclaw Locker Room, the team was preparing for the game.

"Alright everyone. This is it. This is our moment to shine." Mark began. "Ravenclaw has been last place for too long!"

"And now we have gotten rid of those idiots." the Seeker, Cho, said.

"Right. We've got players that can actually do what their supposed to do. And we have our secret weapon. No one knows who I selected for the team. Not even our own house. That's why I wanted to hold our tryouts and practices at such random hours. That way, no one would be able to spy on us. It looks like it worked and we've practiced in dozens of different conditions."

"And…we've got our ultra secret weapon." said Lucy, the Keeper.

"Right. When they see Harry and Ginny, two first years, they'll think we've thrown in the towel."

"No offense but you two are not very intimidating." said the other Beater, Greg.

"None taken." both Harry and Ginny said.

"Right. They'll underestimate you and then I want all three of you Chasers to score as quickly as possible. They'll be traumatized once they recollect themselves and notice the score. Got it?"

"Yes." Ginny answered.

"Right." Harry proclaimed.

"Okay." The shy boy, Paul, said.

An invisible voice entered the room and spoke, telling the teams to get into their positions in five minutes.

The team members were making their final preparations. Mark and Greg were practicing swinging their bats and Lucy was doing some stretches. Ginny looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Cho standing idly. She was staring at an unknowing Harry Potter who was walking towards the third Chaser, Paul.

There it was again. That same feeling she had encountered when Cho was staring at Harry during the tryouts. But what was it?

Harry walked over to Paul, who was standing away from the rest of the team.

"Hey…Paul…you doing alright?"

"Oh hi Harry. Yeah…I'm okay." Paul said quickly.

"Paul, I'm not trying to pry into anything. But I can tell something is seriously bugging you. Want to talk about it?"

"I…I don't know. I…guess I'm just nervous."

"It's alright. I'm nervous too. This is my first ever match."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't even know what Quidditch was until a few years ago. I grew up with Muggles."

"Oh…" Their was an awkward silence hanging in the air.

"I have a feeling that it's not just your nerves." Harry continued on.

"Well…my Dad's out there…to watch the game."

"Do you two not get along?"

Paul paused for a moment. "No. He thinks I'm worthless."

"Is he abusive?"

Paul glanced around, as if he was worried his father might hear him. "Yes. He drinks a lot you see."

"My uncle's the same. How's your Mom feeling about your father?"

"He beats her up and threatens her if she tells anyone."

"Paul…as soon as we win and show your Dad just how great you are, I will bring this to the authorities."

"You will?"

"Of course. I won't allow any friend of mine to deal with this alone."

"Thanks Harry."

"Your welcome. No come on. We've got a game to win, and a Father to prove dead wrong."

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"And now. Here they are! On this side. I give you the Hufflepuff Team!" Brooks! Adams! Wilson! Wrandi! Morran! Gigan! And…Diggory!"

"And now, I have been given the list of the names of the new Ravenclaw Team. Until today, no one has known the full team. I present to you…." He looked down at the list and read the names in order.

"Splia! DeGani! Martin! Potter! Weasley! Martin! And…Chang!

There was a dead silence. Not a single sound could be heard throughout all of the grounds.

Potter and Weasley? Two first years? As Chasers!

Slytherin mocked the Ravens as they did with every other team.

Most of Gryffindor were laughing at the Ravens. Their Quidditch Team in particular were creating the most noise. Fred, George, Tonks, Hermione, and Neville on the other hand, did not make a single sound.

The house of Ravenclaw was the quietest of the four. Half thought making DeGani Captain was a horrible mistake. The other half had numerous ideas of why two first years were on the team.

As Mark had planned, the Hufflepuff Team looked cocky and arrogant. All except for their captain, Cedric Diggory. He was staring at Harry and Ginny, trying to analyze them.

Madame Hooch walked onto the field. She opened up the trunk holding the four balls. The bludgers took off. The Golden Snitch quickly followed before soaring out of sight. Chang and Diggory both watched as it disappeared.

Madame Hooch picked up the Quaffle. Harry and Ginny looked at each other. Then they looked at Paul. The three of them nodded.

Madame Hooch threw the ball into the skies.

"The game begins!" Jordon announced.

Less then a second later, Ginny had snatched the Quaffle. Paul and Harry surrounded her as she tossed the ball flawlessly into the top hoop.

Once again, the stadium was silent. How had that happened? How could a first year score that quickly?

The Hufflepuff Keeper tossed the ball to Gigan. The poor Chaser would need a week in the Hospital Wing to recover from the onslaught the came in the next two point eight seconds. Luckily he was only twenty feet off of the ground when he was swarmed, so the fall was not as bad as it could have been.

Another throw, this time by Paul, and Ravenclaw was winning twenty to nothing.

"Incredible! Hufflepuff is getting slaughtered by two first years and a third year!" Jordon proclaimed.

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Up in the stands, a conflict was going on between the Headmaster and Professor Flitwick.

"Filius, Harry and Ginny are not allowed to own their own broomsticks. It is a rule. I am required to pull them from this game."

"And Albus, I keep telling you! They do not own their own broomsticks! DeGani and the older Martin bought them."

"Then why are young Harry and Ginny riding them?" Albus pushed on, feeling confident that he would win this argument. He would not allow Ravenclaw to win. They would get more house points and could possibly win the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup.

Gryffindor needed to win both so Harry would want to switch to the house that would always win.

"Because DeGani and Martin are letting them borrow their brooms!" Filius practically shouted.

"It is against the school rules!" Albus said once more.

"Albus give it a rest!" McGonagal sighed.

"Headmaster, as much as I hate to admit it, Filius is correct. There is no rules against borrowing a broomstick. Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley are not breaking any rules at all."

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Down below, Harry, Ginny, and Paul were quickly racking up the points. By the time five minutes had past, the score was one hundred and seventy to thirty.

"And Ravenclaw is definitely making up for the numerous years it had come dead last. They are crushing the badgers!" Jordon proclaimed. "Hufflepuff in possession. Morran passes to Wrandi. Here comes Potter!"

Harry sped straight towards Wrandi. The two tried to out smart him and right when he was about to grab the Quaffle, they stopped, causing him to fly past. Harry quickly pulled up and was immediately upside-down. Hanging onto his broom with his legs, he used his hands to capture the Quaffle.

He was approaching the hoops. Brooks looked ready to block him. Still upside down, he spiraled around the goals. Brooks kept a steady eye on him.

He quickly pulled up. Brooks did the same. But immediately, Harry did yet another loop feinting his final throw.

Brooks followed him upwards as he pulled into the dive. The ball fell effortlessly into the golden ring.

"And yet another ten points for Ravenclaw! Even if Diggory caught the Snitch now, the game would end in a tie!"

The crowd silently gasped. Could another tie be in the near future?

"Wait a second?" Jordon breathed. "Was that the Snitch? Diggory thinks so! And Chang is not too far behind!"

The two teams watched as the Seekers raced for the golden ball.

Harry flew up to Ginny.

"Ready to do our special move?" He asked.

"Ready." She replied.

While the crowd and teams were distracted. Harry grabbed the discarded Quaffle sitting atop the grass. He and Ginny flew to the sky so no one could see them.

Once at about a thousand feet, they dived. The ant sized pitch was quickly growing before their very eyes.

Someone from Hufflepuff called out to his team. Finally, everyone noticed the Quaffle in Harry and Ginny's hands. Immediately, all members of the opponent team, save Diggory, shot right at them.

If they scored, it wouldn't matter that Cedric caught the Snitch.

They swerved and weaved out of the way. They spiraled around each other, building up speed.

Harry gave the ball to Ginny.

"Win it." He said.

"I will." She answered. He stopped flying and Ginny shot ahead, Quaffle in hand.

Out of nowhere, both of the Bludgers whooshed towards her. She couldn't turn. The bludgers covered both sides and were flying closer. She couldn't rise or fall. They were right next to her.

She performed the only option left.

She did a barrel roll.

The bludgers swirled past her and she threw the ball. It spiraled in a great circle. It could have gone in any of the three hoops. And could just as easily missed any of the three hoops. Brooks couldn't tell where it was or where it was going. The ball was much to fast for her.

It rushed past her at super sonic speed and soared through the top hoop.

"Chang has caught the Snitch!" Jordon announced. Everyone's' heads turned to the Ravenclaw Seeker holding a speck of gold in her hand. "Ravenclaw wins!"

The stadium exploded with noise. The Ravenclaws were the loudest of course. The had won! The were

almost double the number of points Gryffindor and Slytherin had. And Hufflepuff had only thirty points in their paws.

This was a huge victory for the house of Ravenclaw.

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Just like the monh before it, December had quickly rolled by. Hogwarts found herself buried in snow. The Black lake had frozen over. Fred and George had pranked Quirrel by charming snowballs to bounce off of his turban.

One week before the holiday break, Professor Flitwick came into the common room.

"Anyone who will be staying at Hogwarts for the Holidays must sign their name onto this list before Monday night. That is all."

Harry and Ginny walked back down into the common room once everyone had fallen asleep. They cast their "bubble" and began discussing the holidays.

"So are you going to be going home?" Harry asked his best friend.

"I'm not sure if that's the best thing to do at the moment." Ginny said honestly. "I know my mother is still mad at me and she holds grudges for a long, long time."

"She sure can. Ginny. She sure can."

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Hermione, Tonks, and Neville were all going home to their families for the holidays. Only Harry, Ginny, and a few other students were staying at the school.

The four promised to give each other their gifts once the new term had arrived.

The train rolled out of the station. Soon enough, the mountains hid the steam from the engine. Their friends were gone.

Surprisingly, Ron had stayed, much to their annoyance.

"Hey Harry! Why don't you ditch the brat and celebrate Christmas Gryffindor style?" He grabbed Harry and began to drag him towards his common room.

Harry easily got out of his grasp.

"Ron, I'm going to spend Christmas with my friends." He turned and left Ron standing alone in the middle of the hallway.

For the rest of the week, they stayed in either the comfort of their common room or the comfort of the library.

They hadn't seen Dumbledore or Ron at all.

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It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Well, except for Harry and Ginny. They wanted to watch as the Eve of Christmas turned into the Day.

"Almost time Harry." Ginny said.

"I know Ginny. I can't-"

Tap Tap Tap.

They looked to the window where the tapping sound was coming from. Harry opened the window and an extremely old owl wheezed its way in.

"Errol!" Ginny gasped. "How did he survive that blizzard? He barely can last a normal trip!"

Errol stuck his leg into the air. Tied to it was a very soggy letter.

Harry untied the parchment from the molting owl's leg and performed a quick drying charm on it.

Written on the front of the letter in a messy scrawl were the words,

_Harry Potter_

_The Boy Who Lived_

_Ravenclaw Common Room._

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"Well, I can see where Ron gets his horrible handwriting. I can just barely make out the words." Harry said.

Ginny giggled. "It's true you know."

_Dear Harry,_

_Hello dear. How are you? I do hope that you are enjoying your classes._

_We met a few weeks ago, during that horrid duel between your friend Ronald and my daughter Ginevra. First and foremost, I would like to apologize for any problems Ginevra brings you. She refuses to listen to what her betters say and creates all kinds of trouble for her own amusement._

_Onto the main point of this letter, the Weasley family would like to invite you to spend the Holidays with us. You will be able to spend more time with your friend Ronald and away from Ginevra. We are not inviting her to stay with us until she learns her place._

_We are sorry for you to spend your days without a family. However, we as a proper pureblooded family of the light, are ready to accept becoming your new family and raising you to become the proper wizard the wizarding world always knew you would be._

_It is far too dangerous to have you ride the train home. We will be there tonight in Dumbledore's office to collect you._

_Until Then,_

_Molly Weasley (née Prewett)_

Ginny looked up at Harry. His face was motionless.

"Harry?" She asked gently.

"That lousy, no good, $%$%, %$^%, $$^&(, whore!" He screamed.

Ginny wondered if someone could hear him rage through the "bubble."

"Harry." She said gently.

"who does she think she is? Saying she is ready to become my new family!"

"Harry." She said a little louder."

"Raise me to be the proper wizard I was meant to be? Dumbledore's puppet! That's what I'd be!"

"HARRY!" She yelled at him. He stopped and looked at her. His emerald eyes were full of tears.

She walked up to him and hugged him.

"Harry. They are not and never will be your family. You already have one. Hermione's your family. Neville's your family. I'm family…right?"

"Of course your family Gin."

Their faces were close together.

"What did you call me?" Ginny asked.

"Gin."

"I like that name." Ginny said with a smile.

"Then I'll use it from now on." Harry replied with a grin.

Their noses were touching.

"Merry Christmas Harry." Ginny said.

"Merry Christmas Ginny."

Christmas came to life with a kiss.

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**A/N: **Yeah! And that's the end of this chapter! Finally the two kiss! About time! Dumbledore is still trying to lure Harry to Gryffindor.

And now, we wait as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future come to….oh wait a second…wrong Christmas story.

Next time we shall watch Harry and Ginny deal with the Weasley's invitation and yet another one of Dumbledore's numerous schemes. So until then, review and do the challenges below.

**Thanks To…**

Buddygirl1004 CometJim Namiki

Nightwing509 azphxbrd Vampirefan900

The Spiked Dragon Nightwing27 Madi mo

JourneyRocks12 Diana Black Daniel White

Taeniaea Miss Millie Mei fa-chan

Mrs. Yaya Alou Kerr NUDGELOVER

**Bragging Rights Go To….**

Buddygirl1004- feels betrayed, Snape looks out for Harry,

CometJim-Alliances, lemon drops

The Spiked Dragon-Frustration

NUDGELOVER-Dumbledore steals stone

**Challenges**

**1. What will happen during Christmas Break?**

**2. What will happen concerning Molly's invitation to Harry?**

**3. Luscious and Narcissa Malfoy. Friends or Enemies to Harry?**

**See you all next chapter.**

**SuperXBrother.**


	23. The Holiday War

Hello to all readers out there! So Chirstmas has arrived. Harry and Ginny have **F-I-N-A-L-L-Y **kissed. There will be plenty more where that came from. And the Weasleys are coming to bring Harry home to celebrate the holidays leaving poor "Ginevra" all alone with only the headmaster for company.

**YEAH RIGHT** Like that's going to happen. Harry and Ginny are not going to take this without a fight. And boy will they fight. Dummydore and the others wont have a clue what hit them.

But Albus will not allow his plans to go to ruin. He **WILL**control the Boy Who Lived. **HE WILL!**

Who will win this holiday war in Chapter Twenty Three of The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone?

_Previously on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_"HARRY!" She yelled at him. He stopped and looked at her. His emerald eyes were full of tears._

_She walked up to him and hugged him._

_"Harry. They are not and never will be your family. You already have one. Hermione's your family. Neville's your family. I'm family…right?"_

_"Of course your family Gin."_

_Their faces were close together._

_"What did you call me?" Ginny asked._

_"Gin."_

_"I like that name." Ginny said with a smile._

_"Then I'll use it from now on." Harry replied with a grin._

_Their noses were touching._

_"Merry Christmas Harry." Ginny said._

_"Merry Christmas Ginny."_

_Christmas came to life with a kiss._

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**The Holiday War**

Harry and Ginny reluctantly broke the kiss, for the need for oxygen was far too great.

"Wow." They both said at the same time.

"So…what does this make us Gin?" Harry asked.

"I think you know the answer to that Harry."

"I like that answer."

"So do I." Ginny said, closing the distance between their lips again.

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The sun had risen and Dumbledore paced around in his office. The time was near. Young Harry was sure to go with his new family. He had been deprived of love his entire life and was sure to take the first offer given to him.

Harry would spend the entire Christmas break with the Weasleys. Their loyalty to Dumbledore was guaranteed to rub off on Harry. Ronald would become his friend and his magnificent plan would resume on its intended course.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of fire blazing harshly. He turned around and there stood Molly and Arthur Weasley.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." He said with a kind smile. I hope to find you two well?"

"Very much Headmaster." Arthur said. "Thank you."

"I will send a house elf to collect your sons, Harry, and your daughter." Dumbledore said.

"Actually Headmaster, just my boys and young Harry." Molly said. "We will be leaving Ginevra here."

Dumbledore stood in shock. They had informed him of these plans.

"And why did you not tell me?" He asked.

"We are so very sorry Professor Dumbledore." Molly said. "Arthur must have forgotten to owl you."

"Wha…I did not fo-" Arthur began protesting before Molly elbowed him in the gut, silencing him.

"I'm sorry for my husband's forgetfulness." Mrs. Weasley apologized, then glaring at her husband.

"That is quite alright Mrs. Weasley." The headmaster replied.

The elf returned followed by Ron, Fred, and George. But there was no Harry or Ginevra in sight. Dumbledore frowned and then glared at the creature in rags.

"Did I not say to bring Harry and Ginevra as well?" He asked the shaking house elf.

"N-no sir. But I am afraid that I c-cannot enter the R-ravenclaw common r-room."

"You can teleport from one place to the next!" Ron shouted at the trembling house elf.

"In n-normal c-circumstances I can. H-however…I c-cannot enter the Ravenclaw c-common room."

Dumbledore was tempted to strangle the stupid creature. He was messing with his glorious plans! But…reluctantly he held his rage and muttered, "Take us to the common room."

The nervous elf did as he was commanded. He led them to the entrance to the common room. Dumbledore

approached the door and grabbed the handle inside of the stone Raven's beak. Immediately, the stone bird bite down on his hand. He tried to pull his hand away but it wouldn't budge. Then, the bird did something that stunned them all.

It zapped Albus Dumbledore.

The bird released its grip and Dumbledore stumbled backwards.

"What? Professor are you alright?" Molly asked.

"I'm…fine." He grunted. 'What is this?' He wondered in thought. "I'm mostly in shock. Please ignore the pun."

"Pun ignored Professor. But don't touch the door again. It'll shock you twice as much as the last time." Harry's voice said.

"Harry come out right this second!" Dumbledore commanded.

"Nah, I'm good."

Albus took out his wand. He cast an unlocking charm on the door. It did not budge. The Weasleys stared at him, the door, then back at him again.

"Do not fret. I will have this door opened momentarily." He confidently informed them.

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"Looks like he's not going to give up anytime soon." Harry said.

He and Ginny were not even in the Ravenclaw Common Room. Actually, they were above it!

During their many escapades of the castle, they had found yet another secret path through Hogwarts. It connected the Ravenclaw common room to a very special room inside the castle. One few know as the Room of Requirement.

'It is a good thing I thought of creating security systems for the common rooms all those years ago.' Rowena said to them from within their minds.

"Thanks Rowena." Harry said.

'No problem Harry but I did have lots of help.' She said sheepishly.

Godric snorted. 'Yeah right! You did all the spell work for the systems. Your incredibly smart. Don't sell yourself short dear.'

'Godric, you very well know that I did not!' She said, blushing at the complement.

'Actually Rowena,' Merlin said slyly. 'you did. They simply activated the spells. You created ninety percent of the various parts of Hogwarts. You even created the Room of Requirement from complete scratch!'

'Traitor.' She muttered, but smiling at the same time knowing that it was the truth.

'Shush!' Guys this part's getting good!' Ginny said. They returned their attention to the image on the giant flat screen.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Normally, electrical muggle objects did not work when interfered by magic. But Harry and Ginny had asked for a room where no one from the outside could bother them while they watched Television.

The room had complied and ta-da! They're watching a wall sized HD television show about a deranged headmaster trying to break into a common room.

"Here comes the best part!" Soleil cried happily.

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Momentarily apparently took a very long time in the magical world. For the past half hour, Dumbledore had been hurling spell after spell at the bloody pigeon guarding the door. Right now, he was getting into the more…creative spells.

Fred, George, and Arthur felt like they were watching a game of muggle tennis. Dumbledore sent a spell at the door. They followed the spell. When the spell failed, they turned back to Dumbledore who repeated the process.

"REDUCTO!" He bellowed. The spell shot at the door.. But this time, unlike all of the other spells, the door did not absorb it. Instead, the spell merely rebounded off and slammed into an unsuspecting suit of armor.

A flash of light later and all that was left was a pile of smoking ash.

"Um…professor?" Arthur asked quietly.

"What?" He muttered.

"This is not working. It is obvious that Harry does not want to leave."

"No!" Molly shouted. "He will come home with his family. He needs us!"

"I'm his best friend! He wants to come home! I know it!" Ron shouted.

"Ron," Fred/George replied simply. "Harry is not leaving."

"Yes he is! We are going to get into that ruddy door if it takes all night!" Mrs. Weasley proclaimed. "Now start shooting spells!"

Fred and George reluctantly complied. But they silently smirked at the furious Molly, Ron, and Dumbledore. They did not know what they had done. But the Harry and Ginny they knew would not be leaving tonight.

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"Idiots!" Harry shouted.

"You may not like him Harry," Ardoris said chuckling as he watched how…entertaining Dumbledore was being. "but you have to admit, Dumbledore has style."

"True. Very true." Harry admitted.

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In the end, Dumbledore and his merry men could not break down the door. They decided to call it a night and resume again in the mourning.

But before they left Ron began kicking and screaming at the door despite getting fried via electricity.

"GINNY! YOU LET HARRY GO RIGHT NOW! I KNOW YOU"RE HOLDING HIM CAPTIVE! LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW!

His body could not take the pain anymore and he collapsed into a crumbled heap. He began snoring and everyone knew he was alright.

The next mourning, they returned to the door that brought them so much pain. Dumbledore was holding a gift box complete with a bow on top and a long thirty foot pole.

"What is that?" Ron asked greedily, pointing to the present.

"Hopefully a way to get Harry to come out. We'll knock on the door with a long, rubber pole so we will not get shocked. Harry will come out and see the present on the other side of the hall. When he turns around, we'll stun him and bring him to the Burrow.

"Are you sure that's the best way to do this?" Fred asked.

"Harry might not be so happy once he wakes up." George replied.

"Quiet you two!" Mrs. Weasley yelled at her sons. "How dare you question the headmaster! And of course Harry will be happy. Ginny is probably holding him hostage!"

Fred and George sighed as Dumbledore placed the present down and used the pole to knock on the door.

From the sound of footsteps, it sounded like Harry was coming to the door!

But instead, the Raven head extended from the door. It reached the other side of the hall and grabbed the present with its beak. It quickly began retreating back to the door.

"GET THAT BIRD!" Dumbledore roared.

Everyone except the twins and Arthur jumped at the bird head. The three Weasleys had the logic to suspect that the Raven was still covered in electricity. And judging by the state of unconsciousness the others were in, they assumed that their theory was correct.

The bird retracted back to its original position. Before the knocked out Albus could do anything to retrieve the gift, the raven swallowed it whole.

Fred, George, and Arthur watched as the door opened easily. And out came Harry and Ginny.

"Hey guys." Harry said as if nothing had happened. Then he looked down. "Why are Dumbledore, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley sleeping on the floor?"

"Don't know Harry." One of the two twins said, a smirk on his face.

"Harry." Arthur said.

"Mr. Weasley." Harry acknowledged him. "I see you have some logic in you. Unlike some others I could name."

"Yes. I have to admit. It does feel good to have Dumbledore's ego knocked down a few pegs." Mr. Weasley smiled. "I am sorry though Harry. My wife and Ron follow Dumbledore blindly. They are corrupted by greed and have no common sense."

"Its alright. That sums up almost every witch and wizard in Magical Britain." Ginny stated the sad truth.

"So Harry, what are you going to do about these guys?" The twins asked.

"This." Ginny said. She and Harry pointed their wands at the fallen witch and wizards. What looked like silky strands of white hair traveled from their foreheads, into the tips of the wands. When the trail of "hair" ended, they gave their wands another wave. Three more strands of "hair" jumped from their wands back to their heads.

"What was that?" Arthur asked.

"We modified their memories." They think that nothing eventful has happened so far in the break. They never thought about bringing Harry to the burrow. They will act like this whole thing never occurred." Harry explained to them.

And it didn't…right?" Ginny asked.

"Right." They agreed.

"I also need to cast a small spell on you three." Harry said. "Don't worry, you'll be able to remember what happened. These events just will not be able to be seen by Dumbledore since he reads the minds of everyone.

"Okay Harry. I trust you."

Harry waved his wand in a semi-circle and pointed it to them. A soft blue glow surrounded their minds. After a few seconds, it disappeared. "Now we just need to levitate them into bed and they'll think they just slept in."

"Right." I'll be taking this ungrateful lot home." Arthur said, waving his hand towards his wife and son. "And…if they want to," He turned to his other two children. "You two are welcome to come home with me."

"Of course Dad." The left one said.

"I agree with my handsome twin. Besides, we can't go a week without pranking Ronny here." The right one laughed.

Arthur shook his head and smiled. "Bye Harry."

"Goodbye."

"And Ginny," Mr. Weasley called out to his daughter.

"Yes?" She asked.

"No matter what your mother says, I am proud to call you my daughter."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears. She ran to her dad and hugged him tight.

Harry levitated his headmaster and walked to his office, leaving his best friend and her father alone to share this private moment.

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"No!" Dumbledore yelled in his sleep. His face was cloaked in icy sweat. His skin was pale and clammy. "NO!" He shot straight up. He looked himself over and checked his surroundings.

He found that he was in his chambers.

"Phew. I'm alright. It was just a nightmare. I can't believe that happened! The world's supply of lemon drops had actually run out! That was scary! Good thing that's over."

He walked into his office. "Good morning Fawkes." He said to his "familiar."

The phoenix just glared at his "master." Dumbledore checked the time.

"Hm…that nightmare must've really been bad. It's nearly noon!" He shuddered remembering the horrible fate his nightmare had included. "Now where was I? Ah that's right! I gave Harry the gift! Tonight is the night. Oh how I've been looking forward to this moment!" He reached into his bowl of his favorite sweets and plucked one out.

He tossed it into his mouth and savored the lemony taste.

"Ah…that's better."

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Harry and Ginny stared at the present Dumbledore had given them. Neither had touched the item, suspecting it could be anything.

"Use a very long knife to open it." Merlin advised. "That way your magic cannot be tracked. The Room of Requirement answered by giving them a twenty six inch blade of steel.

Harry prodded the bow and slowly opened the package. Out fell a silky cloak. Harry and Ginny stared at it.

"Not yet!" Morgana said. "There's bound to be a few tracking charms at the least." Harry and Ginny used a checking charm and found thirty eight different spells invading the cloak. After an hour of removing the spells the cloak was back to its original self.

Harry apprehensively picked up the cloak. The elders gasped.

"Harry! Merlin shouted. "Do you know what that is?"

"What?" He and Ginny asked curiously.

"It's an invisibility cloak!" Helga told them.

"No way!" The children said.

"Not only that." Rowena informed them. "But it is the very one of the three Deathly Hallows!" Harry and Ginny stared at the cloak in utter silence. The Deathly Hallows were real. They had read the legends of the hallows in children's' books.

"Well then?" Ginny asked. "Put it on!"

Harry nodded and threw the cloak over his body.

He turned to a mirror that had just appeared. He was gone!

But then, he realized something.

"Dumbledore wants us to go to a certain room tonight." His voice said. He took off the cloak. "I checked his mind and his surface thoughts were about getting me into a room where he had moved the mirror."

"But he doesn't know about the Stone…right?" Ginny asked nervously.

"No. He still believes it is in there. The idiot didn't even check the mirror when he moved it. He just assumed no one could get passed his spell."

"So what should we do?" Ginny asked.

"I think you need to go." Merlin said.

"What? Why?" Harry asked the sorcerer.

"You need to retain the image that you're innocent and have no clue about the stone. Dumbledore still thinks you are a carefree eleven year old. Any normal eleven year old would go out and explore with that cloak."

"Yeah but-"

"Harry, he's right." Salazar agreed. "You are not normal. But Dumbledore still thinks you are. It's best to keep that image for the time being."

"Alright. I'll go."

"And it needs to be just Harry." Godric informed them.

"No! I'm not letting Harry do this on his own! Ginny shouted.

"Ginny. We need to find out what else Dumbledore is up to." Harry explained sadly. "If we keep an innocent appearance, he'll slip up one day and tell us something big. If he sees us as threats, he'll be more reserved and secretive…more than usual."

"Yeah but-" Ginny argued.

"Ginny, we can communicate with each other with our minds. You'll be able to see what I see. You'll be right there with me."

Ginny stood there in silence. She looked out the window. The sun was sinking behind the mountains. Time had flown by.

Then without warning, she flew into Harry wrapping her arms around him tight and kissing him with all her heart.

She broke the kiss leaving a dazed Harry.

"Just be safe Harry." Harry came to and smiled. He picked up the invisibility cloak and threw it over himself.

"Don't worry Ginny. I will. I promise."

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Harry followed the breeze that he knew was pushing him to the unused classroom. He knew that Dumbledore was tailing him, but he couldn't let the appearance shatter. He needed to continue acting like the innocent eleven year old Dumbledore believed him to be.

Harry followed the breeze and saw a fight between Snape and Quirrel. Snape was threatening the stuttering professor that he was onto him.

Harry quickly walked by inside the cloak and pretended to hide from the professors in a conveniently close room, the one with the mirror.

And there it stood. Just as tall and proud as he saw it the last time. The backwards message was still magnificently carved into the golden frame.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi

"Hello Harry." A voice called out.

Harry faked jumped and turned around. There stood the form of Albus Dumbledore.

"Oh I-I didn't see you Professor." He stuttered.

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can be." Said Dumbledore. "So you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I d-didn't know it was called that sir."

"But I expect that now you have realized what it does?"

"It…it shows me my family." He said. He had seen his family. A future one at that. But he had never told Ginny and he blocked that part of his mind. He didn't want to spoil the surprise.

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy." said Albus, smiling.

Harry was confused for a moment. But then realized Dumbledore thought Ron had gone with him to see the Mirror.

"H-how d-"

"I do not need a cloak to become invisible." Dumbledore said.

"Now can you think of what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"

Harry shook his head.

"Allow me to explain. The happiest man on Earth would be able to gaze into the mirror and see himself exactly as he is."

"So…it show us what we want." Harry pretended to guess like the average eleven year old. "Whatever we want…"

"Yes…and no." Said the headmaster. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You who have never known your family. Ronald who has always been overshadowed by his many brothers, sees himself as the best of them all."

Harry stared at him.

"However, this Mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it. And that is why, the Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow. And I ask that you not go looking for it again." He stared into the mirror and sighed.

"Sir?"

"It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

'It also does not do well to be a manipulative bastard and forget to use logic either.' Ginny thought to him.

"Sir, can I ask you something?" Harry asked, knowing Dumbledore would lie.

"Obviously, you have just done that." The headmaster smiled. "But I will allow you to ask one more question."

"What do you see when you look into the mirror?" Harry saw Dumbledore show a look of panic before becoming calm once more, his eyes twinkling.

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Harry stared at him.

"One can never have too many socks Harry. Remember that as well for it is a valuable life lesson. Now off to bed."

Harry donned his invisibility cloak and returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room, the door now devoid of electricity to avoid suspicion. Harry climbed into bed thinking one last thing before sleep overtook him.

"Socks? Stupid bastard."

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**A/N:** And that is the end of the Holiday War! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. And now, Harry's got an invisibility cloak to use now free of tracking charms! Hip. Hip. Hurray! The new term begins next chapter. What will our old pal Quirrel be up too? Will Ron still try to be friends with Harry? Probably. And Snape will meet with them to discuss Dumbles latest scheme.

Do the challenges below and find out next time on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone!

**Thanks To….**

JourneyRocks Nightwing509 

Milarqui Kadude13 Hikaru-pichu

Arashigan16 ProfessorChris ..86

Vampirefan900 The Snake Heiress buddygirl1004

Lord Jawblinneron mynameiscolor064 mollymiccee

Rosalie Riddle Jim Red Hawk MRSYAYA

Nightwing27 Coru 32 Fairqueen2

DaneilWhite VizeerLord god of all

Miss Millie PeacefulEntei The Spiked Dragon

Mei fa-chan azphxbrd

**Bragging Rights go to…**

Milarqui-invisibility cloak, escape from Ravenclaw Room (sorta)

Snake Heiress-no show to Dummydore.

Buddygirl1004-go to collect Harry in Ravenclaw room

Lord Jawblinneron-snog in Ravenclaw room

MRSYAYA-Room or Requirement

Miss Millie-Room of Requirement

The Spiked Dragon-Ron makes fool of himself

**Challenges**

**1. What will happen during the Forbidden Forest section?**

**2. What will Quirrel/Voldy be up to?**

**3. Luscious and Narcissa Malfoy? Friend or Foe to Harry?**

**See you next Chapter.**

**SuperXBrother**


	24. Quidditch and Dragons

Hey everyone! Well, the twenty forth chapter has arrived and The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone will soon be coming to a close. But enjoy these last few chapters and maybe a sequel will be on the way!

I do not own anything.

This chapter is dedicated to the victims of the East Coast Earthquake and of Hurricane Irene. 

_Previously on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_"Now can you think of what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"_

_Harry shook his head._

_"Allow me to explain. The happiest man on Earth would be able to gaze into the mirror and see himself exactly as he is."_

_"So…it show us what we want." Harry pretended to guess like the average eleven year old. "Whatever we want…"_

_"Yes…and no." Said the headmaster. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You who have never known your family. Ronald who has always been overshadowed by his many brothers, sees himself as the best of them all."_

_Harry stared at him._

_"However, this Mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it. And that is why, the Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow. And I ask that you not go looking for it again." He stared into the mirror and sighed._

_"Sir?"_

_"It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."_

_'It also does not do well to be a manipulative bastard and forget to use logic either.' Ginny thought to him._

_"Sir, can I ask you something?" Harry asked, knowing Dumbledore would lie._

_"Obviously, you have just done that." The headmaster smiled. "But I will allow you to ask one more question."_

_"What do you see when you look into the mirror?" Harry saw Dumbledore show a look of panic before becoming calm once more, his eyes twinkling._

_"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."_

_Harry stared at him._

_"One can never have too many socks Harry. Remember that as well for it is a valuable life lesson. Now off to bed."_

_Harry donned his invisibility cloak and returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room, the door now devoid of electricity to avoid suspicion. Harry climbed into bed thinking one last thing before sleep overtook him._

_"Socks? Stupid bastard."_

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

**Quidditch and Dragons**

Christmas Break had finished and the new year had begun. Classes resumed to their…normal routine. Ghosts wandered the halls, plants tried to bite you in Herbology, History of Magic caused ninety nine percent of all students to fall asleep.

And yet, Harry felt like something was wrong. That…he was forgetting something. He was missing a crucial piece of information.

Ginny, Neville, and Hermione all told him not to worry about it. But Harry felt different. Something serious was about to happen. And he feared that once the problem arrived, he would be too late. Far too late.

The New Marauders continued their pranking of the school. Random students found their robes flashing different colors or their hair growing extremely long. The Prankster group also decided that it was time to begin their Animagus training.

Things did not go very well for any of them. The closest thing of an achievement was when Fred shrank an inch and his fingernails became more pointed. It was still rather difficult to tell which twin was which.

The middle of February had arrived and the teachers were already preparing their students for the end of year exams. Ronald Weasley and his gang complained that May was months away. They quickly shut up when McGonagal gave them detention for two weeks and deducted twenty points each.

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The Match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin had just started. After watching just how talented Ravenclaw's new team was, Slytherin was pulling all the stops. In just the first three minutes they had already committed about twenty fouls.

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While the match was happening at Hogwarts, a certain wizard had apparated into Romania. He needed to be quick. The game could be as short as five minutes and someone could suspect him if they realized he was missing.

He hurried down a slope and levitated himself over a reinforced steel fence. There, just twenty feet away, sat a humongous, sleeping beast. Each of its teeth were well over two feet long and extremely sharp.

He cast a silencing charm and snuck into a mass of twigs and leaves. There, in front of him sat five eggs the size of quaffles. He quickly snatched one and vanished from the spot. He did not want to deal with the mother when she woke up.

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Marcus Flint did not care how many fouls his team committed, he would not lose to a bunch of Ravenclaws!

Ravenclaw was currently leading one hundred to thirty. The Slytherin Team was trying to knock out one player at a time. They failed to realize just how smart the Ravenclaws were.

The match was only seven minutes long. The Slytherin Seeker stood no chance against Cho Chang. She zoomed after the Snitch and finished the game. Ravenclaw was crushing the other houses.

The others would have to get hundreds of points just to catch up.

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The day after the crushing defeat of Slytherin, Professor Albus Dumbledore called the monthly staff meeting into order. All of his teachers reported the exact same things. Nothing had changed in the students' grades.

"And what about young Harry?" He asked. Quite a few of the teachers sighed. Albus's obsession with the boy was becoming very annoying.

"He is still the top student in Transfiguration." McGonagal told him. Ms. Granger, Weasley and Mr. Longbottom all quickly follow in that precise order."

"Harry and his friends all help each other as well as any others in my class." Professor Sprout commented with praise. "They are the perfect student role models."

"And as usual, they are average in my class." The slow voice of Professor Snape said. Most of the staff sighed. "They do perform adequately at making potions but still do not exceed expectations."

"Severus, will you ever learn to not be biased towards your own house?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"I am not biased. I regret to say that even my first years are terrible at making potions." Every member of the staff stared at him. This was history in the making. For the first time, ever, Severus Snape had said something about Slytherin House that was degrading.

Even Albus Dumbledore was shocked. Severus was saying that his Slytherins weren't the best of the best? Something was wrong.

The staff continued reporting their stats to Dumbledore. Soon, he concluded the meeting and every member of the staff walked out of the teacher's lounge.

When he was sure Albus could not see him, Snape hurried over to McGonagal and Flitwick.

"I need to talk with you two in private. Will you meet me in my office later tonight around eight?"

The two looked at each other nervously.

"What's this about Severus? Flitwick asked slowly.

"I can't say anything here. It's way too important. I'll be bringing a few students to this meeting as well."

"Alright Severus." McGonagal agreed. "But this had better not be one of your tricks or else."

"I swear on my magic that this is not a trick." Snape said. The two staff members looked satisfied.

"Okay then. Eight-o-clock." said Filius.

Harry and Ginny had been pulled aside after class by their potions master. He told them of the meeting and they agreed to show as well.

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Harry and Ginny walked into Professor Snape's office and were shocked at what they found. Two other occupants stood near Snape, looking just as confused as they were.

"Servers," McGonagal began. "What is-"

"Shush! You two, your privacy charms. NOW!" He whispered sternly to the children. Harry and Ginny waved their wands and the entire room was bathed in a silver blue light.

"Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley that is extremely advanced magic! Beyond school levels! McGonagal said with a shriek.

"We've been doing them for months." Ginny smiled innocently.

"Okay, now we cannot be overheard. I called you all here because there have been serious events happening." Snape said quickly. "I'm sure you've all felt the stillness in the air.

"I hate to admit it, but you are right Severus." Flitwick said. "But why are Harry and Ginny here. They are spectacular students but-"

"Spectacular? They are very powerful at the simple ages of ten and eleven!" Snape praised them.

"Severus…are you feeling alright? You're praising students that are not in your own house?" McGonagal asked.

"It's all just an act for Dumbledore." Harry explained. "Dumbledore makes him act biased towards his own house for his own schemes."

"What?" Both teachers yelled.

"Yes. They are correct." Snape confirmed.

"You mean all these years, you've been forced to act like a complete git while you are actually civil?" McGonagal yelled.

Snape sighed. "I've made more than my share of mistakes. I did once work for the Dark Lord, believing his views. But over time, I began to not share the same ideas as the Death Eaters. I wanted to get out, but there is no going back. So I suggested to my Lord for me to spy on Dumbledore. Naturally, he agreed. I had my trial and Dumbledore believed me to have come to the light side. Therefore, all of his loyal minions in the ministry accepted me back. Dumbledore forced me to be a double agent, spying on Voldemort. This system worked but I could not be on either side.

Eventually, Dumbledore made me adopt this evil git persona you see in public. He's forgotten that I'm using a fake personality and believes this to be the real me."

"All these years and we never knew…" Flitwick mumbled.

"Severus, I'm so sorry." McGonagal had tears in her eyes.

"All is forgiven. It has not been an easy life, but I have managed."

"So Professor," Ginny asked. "Why did you bring us here?"

Snape stood motionless for a few seconds. Then he uttered two words. "It's gone."

"What?" McGonagal asked.

"The Stone…it…it is missing."

"WHAT? The other two screamed.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. They nodded and smiled.

"Guys calm down!" Harry said loudly.

"Mr. Potter, I do not know how much knowledge you have about the stone but it is-" McGonagal said in a rush.

"Back with its owner." Ginny finished for her.

The adults stared at her.

"We found the stone and returned it to Nickolas Flammel." Harry said.

"But…but how did you…" Snape trailed off.

"Dumbledore said that the third floor corridor on the right hand side was strictly forbidden to all who wished to not die a most painful death." Ginny reminded them. "This castle is full of cocky teenagers. Do you think anyone would have followed his warning?"

The three teachers were gobsmacked. How could they have been so stupid?

"But how…how did you two get passed the Cerberus?" Flitwick asked, amazed that two first years could get past such a beast.

"It may be a monster, but a Cerberus is still a dog." Ginny told them. "Harry conjured up a red rubber ball and Fluffy was in heaven. We were fast friends after that."

The teachers nodded, realizing the simplicity of the children's actions.

"Well, we noticed the trapdoor underneath Fluffy. But he was rolling across the floor with his rubber ball and we didn't want to get squished." Harry told them. They chuckled at his joke. "That was when we noticed a hidden door behind Fluffy."

"Hidden door?" Snape asked. "Why would there be-"

"Dumbledore put it there so he could watch how I progressed through the challenges. All those obstacles you created were just a test for me to get through so Albus could research my abilities."

"He wants to have control over you." Snape said.

"Yes that was what we realized." Ginny said. "But anyway, we went through the corridors and saw the tests you had set up. But there were a few problems we saw. For Flitwick, why did you have a key that fit the lock and broom set where one could fly to catch said key?"

What? I made sure that no key would fit into that lock. And I never put a broom in there!"

"So we can trace that back to Dumbledore." Harry said, not very surprised. "For Snape, why didn't you fill all the vials with poison?"

"I did. So Dumbledore messed with my obstacle too." He muttered.

"And McGonagal, why did you have a game of chess? One could play and win, not to mention the fact that they could simply walk around the chessboard." Ginny asked.

"It was not a chessboard when I left that room! It was a room where the second anything entered, all the statues would go and crush it."

"And I'm guessing that we can trace that back to Dumbledore too?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"It appears so." Snape said. "But I do have one question. How did you get the Stone out of the mirror? I saw the headmaster put it in myself and place several locking charms on it."

"Easy I wanted to know how to get the Stone. And the mirror showed me. Poof, I had a stone."

"And yet another thing Dumbledore has messed up on." Snape said with a bitter laugh.

"We do know that Dumbledore was planning everything in my life. My friends were no exception to that." Harry said. "Dumbledore placed Ginny's family at the entrance to Platform nine and three quarters right as I was brought there. Mrs. Weasley asked loudly what the platform number was repeatedly. She was searching for someone, namely me."

"My brother Ron was supposed to be Harry's best friend. Hermione was supposed to be his friend but have a blind trust of authority as well." Ginny said.

"The challenges were changed by Dumbledore so Ron, Hermione, and I could easily get through. The Devil Snare and Potion Room was for Hermione, the Chess Room was for Ron, and the Key room was for me. The troll had already been killed so none of us had to deal with that."

"How did Dumbledore expect to keep out a Dark Lord while having three first years get past the challenges?" McGonagal roared.

"He didn't. He wanted me to face Voldemort, who is here in the castle right now."

"WHAT?" All three teachers bellowed. "WHERE? They demanded.

"Voldemort is somehow living inside of Professor Quirrel." Ginny said. The three began turning for the door. "But you can't go and confront him!" She shrieked.

"Why not Ms. Weasley? there is a mass murderer in the castle at this very moment!" McGonagal yelled.

"Because Voldemort could come out and posses Quirrel at any moment. Besides, he thinks that no one suspects him and is there simply to keep a lookout."

"A lookout for what?" Flitwick asked.

"Voldemort beloved the rumors about the Stone being hidden at Hogwarts. But he sent a servant to find the Flammels in case they had it. Voldemort is listening to see if the stone really is here or not. That is why we returned it to Nickolas. That way, neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore can use it for themselves. If Voldemort finds out we know he's here, there's no telling what he could do. The best option right now is to wait and listen."

The three teachers stared at him. Finally Flitwick smiled.

"Alright Harry I understand. Using logic is the best option as of this moment."

"I agree." Snape said.

"Me too." said McGonagal.

"We know that Voldemort will be making his move late into the year, probably right after the exams. Everyone will be so focused on the grades that no one would notice." Ginny said evenly.

"That's my Ravenclaw!" Flitwick said proudly.

"So we'll lay low and innocent for the next few months. We should make some sort of communicator for when Voldemort is about to make his move." Snape suggested.

"I'll make the communicators." Flitwick said. "A few simple charms combined with Harry and Ginny's privacy spells should make it almost impossible for someone to overhear the signal."

"Agreed." The rest said unanimously.

"Oh and one more thing Harry and Ginny." Snape said.

"Yes sir?" The children asked.

"I'm not sure when it will happen, but I know Dumbledore will soon be asking me to make a love potion to separate you two. He does not want you two to be friends as it interferes with his plans. I will have to make the potion but I will also give you two the antidote. Keep it on your person at all times. If you feel that you have been doused under the potion take a small sip. If you continue to feel doused, come see me immediately. Understand?"

"Yes." The said together.

They adjourned their secret meeting. Harry and Ginny took down the privacy charms and no one was the wiser.

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The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch match was soon. Very soon. The Snape had volunteered himself to referee this game, much to the Lions' dismay. The captain, Oliver Wood, demanded Madame Hooch take Snape's place but Dumbledore quickly rejected the plea.

In fact, only Harry, Ginny, Neville, Hermione, the twins, and Tonks knew what the Potions Master was really like. The rest of the entire school, besides two certain teachers, thought him to be the greasy, biased git he was famed for.

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In the Gryffindor Common Room, three students were sitting by the fire.

"We have got to get Harry away from those idiotic birdbrains!" Ron declared.

"Ron," Seamus said, being the smartest of the three. "Isn't Ravenclaw the house of the intelligent?"

"It's also the second darkest house in all of Hogwarts!" Ron shouted. "Harry cannot hang around with those slimy Birds and Snakes. They'll corrupt him!"

""Ron…it sounds like you're trying to make Ravenclaws and Slytherins into the same house." Dean said, who had about fifty more I.Q. points than his fellow red haired friend.

"It because they are all the same! They just want to use Harry. He doesn't know how the wizarding world works. He's innocent and we can't let him go down the wrong path. He needs to be here in Gryffindor!"

Seamus sighed. His father was a muggle, so therefore, he did know how parts of the muggle world worked. It was full of prejudice just like the magical world.

Over on the other side of the room, two first years watched as the youngest male Weasley announced his latest plot to befriend Harry and get him away from the dark house of Ravenclaw.

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The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had ended quickly. Professor Snape did not even have to start favoring Hufflepuff. Gryffindor had taken the lead early on with one goal. Oliver Wood had thrown the Quaffle dangerously close to Snape when he awarded Hufflepuff a penalty…which resulted in yet another penalty.

Hufflepuff scored on both penalties and led the game with thirty points.. The lions only had ten points in their grasp.

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Up in the stands, Dumbledore was silently roaring with rage. Gryffindor was losing! How was Harry Potter supposed to want to join the noble house of the lions if they lost every blasted game?

Gryffindor finally scored again. Dumbledore sighed in relief. The badger house was only double the score of the lions. Gryffindor could win it.

"And Hufflepuff scores again!" Lee Jordon called out bitterly. Dumbledore quietly cursed.

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"And what is this?" Jordon asked. "It seems Cedric Diggory has spotted the Snitch! He's making a dive for it. Ouch! And he get hit by a bludger via one of the two twins. I can never tell who is who. And Diggory is falling!"

Indeed, Cedric was spiraling towards the ground. Nearly every Gryffindor was cheering while all the Hufflepuffs were crying out for their friend.

Cerdic continued to fall. The ground was coming closer. Fifty feet. Forty. Thirty.

The Hufflepuff Seeker tried to pull up on his broom. He was headed straight down at a forty five degree angle.

"And it looks like he's going to crash!" Jordon shouted eagerly.

Cedric was not about to give up through. He gave one last yank on the tip of his broom. He was almost level with the ground when he crashed.

The stadium was filled with silence. Cedric was still.

The Gryffindor side filled with cheers. There was no possible way they could lose now!

Then, the arm of Cedric rose into the air. A tiny speck of gold in his grasp.

"He…he's caught the Snitch." Jordon gasped. "Hu-huffle…puff w-wins."

Half of the stadium filled with cheers, the other filled with boos and curses.

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Cedric had broken a few ribs but a few hours in the infirmary and he would be back to normal.

Harry said that he wasn't hungry for dinner and decided to go for a walk around the grounds. Ginny was reluctant but headed off to the Great Hall alone.

Harry sighed as he approached the Black Lake. What was Ginny to him? She was his best friend for sure. They could even somehow speak with each other through their minds if they chose too. That was what confused him the most. What did it mean? Why could only he and Ginny have connected minds and no one else?

He stared up at the spiraling towers of Hogwarts. There were no stars in the sky tonight. The castle seemed quiet and eerie.

Harry then heard a rustling of the grass. He ducked behind the boulders that lined the lake and peered around for what could have made the noise.

He saw a hooded figure quickly hurry off into the Forbidden Forest. It was far too dark to see the face but he could tell it was a man.

Harry cast his usual privacy charms upon himself and followed the figure. They kept on walking for a few minutes before the figure suddenly halted.

Harry froze. The man turned around and stared right through him. Harry still could not see his face under that hood. A twig snapped and he turned around slowly.

There stood Snape. He was walking straight towards him. If he bumped into something that was invisible…

Harry quickly ran out of the way seconds before Snape halted in the exact spot that he had stood.

"Hello Quirrel." Snape said in his potions master voice.

"S-snape! Sm-small w-world me-meeting y-you here!" The twitching Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher gasped.

"I know what you are up to Quirrel." Snape accused. Quirrel mumbled a series of unrecognizable words.

"Don't act like you have no idea of what I am speaking about." Snape continued. "Tell me…have you found a way to get around Hagrid's beast?"

"I-I-I don't know w-what-"

"You know perfectly well what I am talking about. Snape interrupted the turban clad teacher.

"But…but…I d-don't"

"Very well." Snape concluded. "I would recommend you soon decide exactly where your loyalties lie Quirrel. It may save you."

Snape threw his cloak over his head and walked out of the woods. It was pitch black outside but Harry could still recognize Quirrel's pale, sweaty face.

Quirrel turned around, and looked right where Harry was standing. The back of his head pointing directly at the castle, where Dumbledore's office stood.

A voice emanated from nowhere.

"_I will return. And I shall have my revenge."_

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"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione called out to her two best friends the next morning. Neville was right behind her.

"What is it Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Hagrid! Hatch…secret…" Neville panted. Hermione gasped for breath.

"Easy you two." Harry said. "Calm down and catch your breath. Then tell us what's wrong." He and Ginny cast the privacy charms so no one would notice them. After a minute, they were able to talk normally.

"We were in the common room studying for Professor Flitwick's exam on jumping charms." Hermione explained.

"When we overheard Ron, Dean, and Seamus talking about Hagrid." Neville added on.

"And what were they talking about?" Harry asked.

"Apparently, Hagrid won a Dragon's Egg from a complete stranger in a game of cards a few days ago. He's been incubating it and it's going to hatch any day now!" Hermione said in a rush.

"WHAT?" Harry and Ginny yelled. The man might been friendly, but he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"Why would he accept an egg from a complete stranger?" Ginny asked logically.

"Doesn't it seem odd?" Harry realized. The other three looked at him.

"What's odd?" Ginny asked curiously.

"When we were shopping in Diagon Alley, Hagrid kept telling me reputedly that he's always wanted a dragon for a pet. And now of all times a stranger has one in his pocket and shows up at the exact same pub at the very same time as Hagrid?" Harry explained.

Three pairs of eyes widened in realization. Harry was right. It could not be mere coincidence."

"Your right Harry. Do you think who ever gave Hagrid the egg was trying to find a way to get him to talk about getting past Fluffy?" Neville asked.

"That must be it! Hagrid spills secrets daily. At a pub where he would probably have been drunk…" Hermione trailed off.

"Hagrid said the egg would probably hatch tonight." Neville remembered.

"How is he going to keep an illegal Dragon a secret?" Ginny asked. "He lives in a wooden hut! It'll be in flames by dawn!"

"Just listen to what Ron says the next few days." Harry said. "We all know he'll blab."

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Two days later, found Neville and Hermione telling their Ravenclaw friends what Ron had loudly boasted. There had been no one still awake in the common room besides them though.

"They've contacted Ron's brother Charlie." Hermione said.

"He works at a Dragon Reserve in Romania." Ginny remembered.

"Right. A couple of his friends are supposed to meet with them Saturday night at the top of the Astronomy Tower. They'll take the dragon in pitch black darkness and no one would ever know." Neville said.

"Oh yeah. Malfoy apparently heard Ron talking about the plan." Hermione added.

Harry thought about that last ibt of info. Draco Malfoy had not been a fraction of what everyone said about him. He had been a jerk when he offered to help him at the beginning of the year but had turned very quiet after hearing Harry's opinions. He would have to wait and see what the heir of the Malfoy family would do with this piece of information.

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Saturday night had arrived. Harry and Ginny had gotten up and decided to take a stroll around the school. They found Ron and his friends running loudly as they carried a wrinkly Norwegin Ridgeback up the stairs.

They had been so focused on Ron that they had not realized that their disallusion charms had fallen.

And at just the wrong time too.

"Well, well, well." Came the grouchy voice of one Mr. Filch. "Students out of bed."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. They saw a gloomy faced Malfoy standing right behind Filch.

Ron, Seamus, and Dean chose that exact moment to run down the stairs. Flich's smile grew even wider.

"Oh dear, we are in trouble!" Filch smirked.

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And that is the end! Harry, Ginny, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Malfoy have been all caught out of bed. It's Filch's lucky day! Quirrel is planning his attack. Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagal now know the truth about the missing Stone. And Dumbledore has been messing with the obstacles even more than we had previously thought! The Forbidden Forest arc is next…possibly followed by a little trip through a trapdoor.

The end is nearing! And we have broken **one hundred thousand words**!

Do the challenges below and find out what happens next on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone.

**Thanks To…**

JourneyRocks13 HolyHead Harpies Nightwing509

MRSYAYA Lord Jawblinneron Milarqui

Azphxbrd Buddygirl1004 MeinGimli

..86 Luiz4200 The Spiked Dragon

Fireburnshot Jafr86 NUDGELOVER

Wandless Wizard Miss Millie Coolgems1630

Kt-moon DaneilWhite

**Bragging Rights go to…**

The Spiked Dragon-Quirrel/Voldemort trying to get Stone.

Milarqui-Quirrel getting Dragon egg.

Buddygirl004-students get caught out of bed

**Challenges.**

**1. Something important will happen concerning the unicorn. What is it?**

**2. What will Harry and Draco discuss during their detention?**

**See you all next chapter.**

**SuperXBrother.**


	25. The Forbidden Forest

_Last time on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_Saturday night had arrived. Harry and Ginny had gotten up and decided to take a stroll around the school. They found Ron and his friends running loudly as they carried a wrinkly Norwegian Ridgeback up the stairs._

_They had been so focused on Ron that they had not realized that their disillusion charms had fallen._

_And at just the wrong time too._

_"Well, well, well." Came the grouchy voice of one Mr. Filch. "Students out of bed."_

_Harry and Ginny looked at each other. They saw a gloomy faced Malfoy standing right behind Filch._

_Ron, Seamus, and Dean chose that exact moment to run down the stairs. Flich's smile grew even wider._

_"Oh dear, we are in trouble!" Filch smirked._

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**The Forbidden Forest**

"You all are coming with me!" Filch said, his voice full of glee.

Harry, Ginny, and Draco nodded. They understood that they had broken the rules and deserved to be punished. Ron and his crew however, were not so agreeable.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Ron yelled.

"You're out of bed. That's against the rules." Filch said. "At least these brats are admitting their guilt and doing what I say. Now, follow me." He turned around and began walking. "And don't even try to run off and hide. All the headmaster needs is a memory and there are four witnesses here." He waved an arm to himself , Harry, Ginny, and Draco.

Ron cursed and began muttering to himself as he began to follow the caretaker.

Filch took them all down to the first floor where Professor McGonagall's office was.

Ron continued moaning and groaning about how the stupid Squib shouldn't even be at the school. Filch shook his head and continued on.

They arrived at the office and Filch swung the door open with pride.

McGonagall opened the door. Whatever she had been expecting, it sure was not Filch followed by two Ravenclaws, Three Gryffindors, and a Slytherin.

"Well…let's here it." McGonagal said with a sigh.

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Filch explained the whole story, not once allowing the three Gryffindors to cut him off, which they attempted multiple times.

"Well…I am passed shocked. Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, you two are my top students. Because of that and due to the fact that this is your first detention in Hogwarts, I will only be taking ten points each. Mr. Malfoy, you are also a highly intelligent student. I will only take ten points from you as well. I wish to not see you three in detention again. I will be tolerant this time but do not mess up again."

The three nodded.

"You three will have to serve detention however." She sighed.

The three nodded once more, accepting their punishment without a single word.

McGonagall stared at the three first years. They were all so very mature, much more than some seventh years she could easily name. She then turned to Ron and his gang.

"You three however, are not off the hook. I am beyond mad. This is your twentieth detention in a term that has only begun a few months! This will be fifty points."

"FIFTY!" Ron roared.

"Each." The aged professor added.

"Professor it not our faults!" Dean yelled.

"Really, then tell me Mr. Thomas. Who's fault is it?"

Ron shot a finger right at Ginny. "Her! It's her bloody fault!"

"And, why, Mr. Weasley, why is it her fault?" She asked, interested at what cock-and-bull story the boy would come up with this time.

"She's corrupted Harry's mind!" He bellowed. "Harry is my best friend! She took him away from me!"

Harry stared at him. "Ron, Ginny has been my friend since the day we met. She has always been there for me and never tries to take advantage of me. You on the other hand are different. You only care about the money and fame I could bring to you if you we my friend."

"Don't worry Harry. I'll save you from my stupid sister. You'll be in a right mind soon enough." Ron reassured him.

McGonagall shook her head and sighed. The boy still couldn't get over the fact that his sister was friends with Harry and not him.

"Ron, you and I are not friends. I do not focus on getting fame and fortune. I have enough of that. Which, by the way, I never even wanted in the first place."

"You see Harry? She's hypnotized you. Who wouldn't want fame and fortune? She just wants it all to herself." Ron told him.

"Ron, I have tried all year to teach you that I am not being forced into anything. But I am done. You can say whatever you want. I don't really give a crap anymore. You are not my best friend and never will be. Period."

"Harry she's already gone and-" Ron began.

"Mr. Weasley that is enough." McGonagal snapped. "You all will serve your detentions tomorrow night at eleven o'clock. You will meet Mr. Filch in the entrance Hall. I will be writing to your families about this. Now may you please leave so I can get a little sleep tonight?"

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The next day found Mrs. Weasley washing the dishes. So much had gone wrong. Harry Potter was not best friends with her little Ronnykins. Not that it was either of their faults. It was that….daughter of hers, Ginevra. The girl had always been an independent one, but lately she had gone way too far. Getting into Hogwarts a year early? Something had happened.

Dumbledore could not even find the answer. How could that even be possible? Dumbledore knew everything! He was the leader of the light for Merlin's sake. H e had always been there to help the family when they needed it. And then, of course her daughter, being the fame seeking girl she is, somehow bewitched poor Harry into not trusting Dumbledore. The man who had always been looking out for him his entire life!

Ginevra was the reason everything was going wrong.

All she had to do was know her place in life. Be a proper pureblooded witch, marry a rich and proper wizard and produce many heirs without a single complaint in her entire life. Was that really so complicated to follow? She was the last female Weasley and she was already ruining the family name!

The girl had better start to learn the truth and quickly. Or else she would never make it anywhere in life. What proper wizard would want a rambunctious, smart mouthed, hot headed witch who would not follow a single command?

Mrs. Weasley looked out the window and sighed.

Her only daughter, Ginevra, had better learn who she was and fast or she would never amount to anything in life.

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Harry and Ginny met Filch in the entrance Hall. Draco stood next to him.

"Ah there you two are. Right on schedule. Now we just need those Gryffindors to get down here and we'll be off." Filch informed them.

A minute passed and Filch's patience had worn out its welcome. He called out for Peeves, the school poltergeist. Peeves was a tiny little man with large and wicked eyes, darting everywhere at once. His mouth was always open, whether to throw out curses at passing people or spitting out raspberries with his long and noisy tongue.

"Ooooooh!" He cackled evilly as he swooped down upon them. "Ickle firsties in itty bitsy baddy detention." He grinned. "What big fun!"

Peeves, got to Gyrffindor tower and pull a prank on Ronald Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas. I don't care what you do as long as it get's them down here in the next fifteen seconds."

Peeves grinned. He shot up into the air like a rocket and disappeared through the ceiling.

Ten seconds later, a rumble shook the castle and a messy looking Ron, Dean, and Seamus zoomed down the stairs, a mad look in their eyes. Black soot covered their pajamas.

"Ah, there you are!" Filch called. "Next time, be where you're supposed to and Peeves will not try to pull a prank on you as often. Now don't think about running off, cause it'll be much worse if you do. Follow me." He lit a lamp and walked out into the grass.

They followed him out the door. Harry, Ginny, and Draco followed him, while the grumbling Gryffindors lagged behind.

The moon shined dimly as they made their way across the dark grounds. The many grey clouds soaring slowly past made the ground beneath them even more invisible.

"I know you'll think twice before you go and break a school rule again, won't ya?" His voice sneered at them.

The only thing they could see was the tiny flame in the lamp. The castle could not even be seen any longer. It had vanished into the night.

"Tis a pity the old punishments died out. Hard work and pain are the best teachers there are. I can still

remember them hanging you in chains from the ceiling for a few days. I still got the chains in my office in

case they're needed. Keep them well oiled to so they're ready at a moment's notice. God I miss the

Screaming."

Harry saw that they were walking over to Hagrid's hut. If this was a detention with Hagrid…

"I suppose you think you will be enjoying yourselves with that lumbering oaf. Think again, cause it's off

into the forest with you. I will be much mistaken if you'll all come back in one piece."

Ron stopped dead in his reluctant tracks. "The forest? Are you mad? We can't go in there! Student's

aren't allowed."

"Which means that you'll check into the forest A-okay Mr. Weasley." Filch snarled with a grin.

Ron gulped. "Bu-but there are…werewolves!"

"I'd expect you to find much worse than werewolves in there Weasley."

They finally arrived at Hagrid's hut. Harry and never really visited Hagrid during the year. HE had made

the trip once or twice. But he didn't really trust Hagrid too well. The big guy trusted people way too easily,

and Harry knew that anything he said would be sent straight to Dumbledore. Hagrid was just to loyal to

the headmaster.

"Abou' time," The giant said. "I bin waitin' fer yeh fer half an hour already."

"Sorry Hagrid. Some of us," He waved an arm towards the Gryffindors, "Had seemed to have forgotten that they had detention tonight."

"Alright then." Hagrid said.

"I'll be back at dawn to collect them, or rather, what's left of them." He added and vanished into the darkness.

Ron stared at Hagrid.

"I'm not going in there." He said stiffly. Everyone present could easily hear the panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts." Said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But it's there faults!" Seamus shouted, pointing at the three non-Gryffindors.

"They followed us around and told Filch!" Dean added.

"Um…no. Harry and I were just taking a walk around the school and were caught by Filch." Ginny said.

"Liar!" The Gryffindors yelled.

"That's enough! Now we're going into the forest to-" Hagrid began to explain.

"But this is servant stuff!" Ron moaned. "I'm a pureblood. I'm above this. Make them do it!" He pointed to the others. Hagrid stared at him along with everyone one else there.

"Yer blood don' matter." Hagrid said sternly. "An' yer sister's pureblood to. Harry's half-blood. Both of them are at the top of the class."

"Whatever." Ron said dismissively. "Make Malfoy do it then. He's a slimy Slytherin!"

"Ron, shut up." Harry said.

"Draco is a Slytherin yes. But does that really matter?"

"Yes! He's a dark wizard!" Ron yelled.

"How so?" Harry asked.

"He's a Slytherin!" Ron shouted.

"Ron your are repeating yourself. How about giving us a reason that doesn't involve Draco's house?" Ginny asked.

"He's a bloody Sly….er…he's a son of a death eater!" He quickly accused.

"Ron…you are pathetic. Draco's father may or may not have been a death eater. But that does not define who Draco is. He's allowed to choose his own path." Harry said slowly.

"No! See Harry? Draco's poisoning you too! He's making you think Dark wizards are superior! He and Ginny are probably working together to get your money!"

"Ron, I'm not going through this again. Draco can choose what he want, not what others label him as."

Draco stared at him.

"Harry, I will free you from these dark bastards!" Ron yelled. He reached for his pocket, where he kept his wand. He dug in and pulled out a Bertie Box of Every Flavor Bean.

"Nope." He reached in again. Cauldron cake.

"Not that." He was creating a small mountain of candy.

"Maybe it's in this pocket." Me mumbled out loud, switching sides.

A few more pieces of wizarding candy, and out came a very sticky wand, complete with melted chocolate running down the side. He looked up.

His face met the tip of Draco's wand.

"Don't even think about it Weasley." Draco threatened.

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The group had entered the forest. After a few minutes of walking Hagrid halted them. Ron, of course, wasn't listening and stepped in something very gooey.

"Ugh! What is this disgusting stuff? He scraped the "slime" off he boot with a fallen branch.

The trees rustled harshly in the breeze.

"That…is unicorn blood." Hagrid said bitterly. "Or was until you soiled it." I found one dead last Wednesday. This one…has been hurt badly. Our job, is to go an' find the poor thing. We're gonna split into groups. Ron, yeh'll be with yer sister an yeh'll go left. Dean an Seamus'll go with me down the middle. And Harry, you'll go with Malfoy on the right path."

Harry looked at the Slytherin member of their party. He didn't seem hateful towards this idea. Ron however, was.

"No! Harry is in my group!"

"Sorry Ron. But we'll get thins done a lot faster if we jus' accept it an' go."

Ron looked beyond annoyed. "Fine, but I get Fang then." He pointed to the large boarhound by Hagrid's legs."

"Alright. Just so yeh know, he's a bloody coward." Hagrid said. Fang whimpered.

Ron shot them all a dirty look and walked away. Ginny let out a sigh. She looked at Harry, smiled warmly, and chased after her idiotic brother.

"Well…you two best be off then." Hagrid said nervously.

"Alright then." Harry said. He and Malfoy looked at each other and nodded. They walked off without another word.

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Harry and Draco trudged along the uneven dirt of the forest. There were small pools of silver every now and then along the winding path so they knew that they were facing the right direction.

The trees were becoming thicker and thicker. They were very deep in the forest now. What little moonlight had been available before was no a mere trickle through the canopy high above. They were surrounded in pitch black silence.

"Potter, I'm sorry." A voice said. Harry turned. It had been so quiet that had nearly forgotten Draco was walking with him.

"Wh-what?" He asked, curious.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"For what?" The scar clad wizard said.

"I was such a jerk at the beginning of the year. I never knew anything about you besides the fact that you're Harry Potter. That was it. And here I was thinking that I could easily become your friend."

"Draco I-"

Malfoy held up a hand. "I need to say this Potter. Don't interrupt me." He took a deep breath. "I just don't know how to explain it. I was raised to believe that blood type is all that matters in the world. That being pureblood means that you are superior to others. I always was shown examples of how and why. My father has tortured muggles in front of me. He's forced me to do it a few times as well. Building character he'd say. He is a fanatic of the dark arts. My mother however, was forced into marriage with him due to a marriage contract to keep her family name pure. She hates the ideas of wizards vs. muggles. My family has attended numerous political meetings and parties. Everyone I met always spoke about blood superiority. I truly did believe that purebloods were supreme and muggles were filth."

Harry stared at him. This was the reason why the students at Hogwarts believed the blood superiority ideas. Their parents taught it to them, as their parents did and so on.

Malfoy continued. "But after what you told me on the train, and seeing all the amazing things you've done all year toppled my beliefs into the ground. You are a halfblood, The Weasley's are Pureblood. And Granger is muggleborn, yet she's one of the top in the class. Ginny is amazing at magic while her brother…Ron…sucks at it."

'True.' Harry thought. 'Very true.'

"Then a few days ago, I overheard the Weasley idiot talking about the Dragon. I knew no one would believe me. So I was trying to figure out what to do with this information. Then, the night came and I knew I had to tell someone. The first member of the staff that I found was Filch and….

"He gave you detention."

"Right. And then, about what you and Ginny had just said earlier. You two defended me. A Slytherin and a Malfoy. Someone who everyone thinks is completely evil. Why?"

Harry did not speak for a few seconds. Then he said, "Well Malfoy…I have never really known you. We've only talked with each other a few times. The first time was iffy. But then, all first meetings with someone are. After that, you seemed quiet most of the year. You never did anything bad. You did what a student is supposed to do in school. Who am I to judge you?"

Malfoy smiled. "I understand. Thank you Potter."

"Please…call me Harry." He held out a hand.

"Draco's the name." A second hand came and shook the first.

"So…friends?"

"Friends." Draco confirmed.

A shriek filled the woods. The two first years jumped at the noise. It sounded close. Very…very close.

The two new friends ran to where the sounds of pain was coming from.

They found themselves right behind an open clearing. There, against the base of a giant rotted tree, bathing in its own blood, was the unicorn.

It looked like it was just a foal. A small innocent creature. It fell to the ground with a thud. Harry was about to make for it when Draco held an arm out in front of him. The Slytherin pointed over towards the side of the clearing.

A form darker than the shadows of the night crept upon the fallen creature. A unnatural chill filled the air. Harry and Draco stood silent. The dark figure raised its arm. The moonlight able to break through the forest trees gleamed off of metal. Then, the figure brought the metal down into the screeching unicorn's skin.

A river of silver rushed down the creatures side. Before Harry or Draco could do anything, the figure brought its head down upon the fresh wound. Many slurping and sucking sounds were greedily coming from the hooded figure's mouth.

Then, the figure turned its head, looking straight at Harry. Silver blood running down its lips. He felt a powerful pain enter his lightning bolt scar. This…this was…Voldemort.

The figure rose from the still body of the unicorn. It seemed to float over towards them. The pain in his scar only increased.

Harry and Draco stood still, paralyzed in fear.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves filled the air. A powerful force rode right passed them. It jumped over their heads and kicked its hooves. The hooded man backed off and rammed into a tree. It was cornered. But it quickly flew up and shot through the air, vanishing into the night.

The hoofed figure turned to them. Harry recognized the black horse immediately.

"Morse!" He called out. The young Thestral had grown much in the past months. It bowed to Harry, who in turn, bowed back. His friend had saved his life.

The black horse turned its head toward the white unicorn.

Harry ran straight to the fallen creature. He checked its pulse. It was somehow…alive. The wound should have been fatal. But its breathing was very short. If something was not done in the next few minutes, it would die.

Morse looked at him. The Thestral closed its eyes and Harry understood.

Harry knew only one thing could save the creature now. In his mind he screamed, 'GINNY!'

Twenty six seconds later a red blur flew right past a still shocked Draco and ran right into Harry.

"What is it Harry?" She asked worried.

"The unicorn's about to die." He looked at her.

She nodded. "We need to pour our magic un to seal the wound." Together, they touch the large gash. Silver gushed rapidly onto their palms. They closed their eyes and concentrated. A river of magical energy was flowing through them.

A soft golden glow came from their hands. Harry poured as much of his energy as possible into the near dead being.

The two collapsed to the dirt, panting heavily.

"Harry! Ginny! Are you two alright?" Draco asked, helping them sit up.

"We're…okay. Just….exhausted." Ginny mumbled.

"But it looks like what ever you just did worked." Draco smiled, looking behind them.

They turned their heads and found the majestic creature alive. The wound was healed and there was no silver blood staining its coat. The unicorn looked at the three of them…and bowed.

They quickly bowed back in shock. Then, two more unicorn appeared behind the foal. They had to be its parents. The largest looked at them, bowed, and seemed to be giving its utter thanks.

The mother was rubbing her child with her head, making sure it was alright. Once it saw that the wound was healed completely, she bowed as well.

Then the father unicorn nodded to his child. The baby walked up to them. It nudged Ginny's bag. A few seconds later, a small vial dropped onto the soft grass. Ginny picked it up.

"What do you want me to do with this?" She asked. The unicorn used its head to nudge Harry and Ginny's hand together. It brought their hands grasping the vial to just below the once wounded spot.

Draco gasped. "It's not going to…"

The unicorn raised its horn proudly, and brought it down upon the skin. A golden light trickled out of the wound rather than the normal silver.

The vial filled completely and the wound sealed itself. The baby bowed to them once more and then disappeared into the night, joined with its parents.

"Do you two know what you're holding?" Draco asked, his mouth still dropped to the floor.

They nodded and together said, "Blood of a Unicorn, freely given."

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**A/N:** And that's the end of this chapter! Just one or two left to go! The Forbidden Forest is done for now and we've got some info on the Weasley's past as well as Draco's. What will they do with the freely given unicorn blood? You'll see later on. The Trapdoor is next! What will the conclusion of The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone have in store for you all? You'll have to wait and find out!

And Buddygirl1004, sorry about not putting in the Pigfarts reference. I just couldn't find a good place for it. Maybe in the future….?

**Thanks To….**

JourneyRocks13, NUDGELOVER, Hikaru-pichu,

Nightwing509, The Spiked Dragon, Miss Millie,

Buddygirl1004, Luiz4200, azphxbrd,

Mrs YAYA, DanielWhite, jay-jaymne-sister-maple,

Jafr86, Mei Fa-chan, A Lou Kerr,

Harrypotterrules, harryandginnyforever

**Bragging Rights go to….**

NUDGELOVER-Voldy drinking blood, Draco's loyalties

Hikaru-pichu-Voldy drinking the blood, Harry and Draco's friendship

The Spiked Dragon-Draco's history

Miss Millie-Draco changes his ways

Buddygirl1004-Voldy is scared off. Harry heals Unicorn

Luiz4200-Harry and Draco talk.

Azphxbrd-Harry and Ginny heal the unicorn, unicorns honor Harry and Ginny

Alou Kerr-See Voldemort drinking blood. Narcissa forced into marriage contract.

**Challenges.**

**1. What will happen in the Trapdoor?**

**2. What will Harry and Ginny do with the Unicorn Blood?**

**The finale is approaching quickly! See you soon!**

**SuperXBrother.**


	26. The Finale

Hello. And welcome. Welcome to the final chapter of The Lord and Lady Phoenix. It all will end here.

Here, it has been seven month since our tale began. Seven is the most magical number there is. After today, our story will be concluded. And now, let us begin.

_Last time on The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone…_

_A soft golden glow came from their hands. Harry poured as much of his energy as possible into the near dead being._

_The two collapsed to the dirt, panting heavily._

_"Harry! Ginny! Are you two alright?" Draco asked, helping them sit up._

_"We're…okay. Just….exhausted." Ginny mumbled._

_"But it looks like what ever you just did worked." Draco smiled, looking behind them._

_They turned their heads and found the majestic creature alive. The wound was healed and there was no silver blood staining its coat. The unicorn looked at the three of them…and bowed._

_They quickly bowed back in shock. Then, two more unicorn appeared behind the foal. They had to be its parents. The largest looked at them, bowed, and seemed to be giving its utter thanks._

_The mother was rubbing her child with her head, making sure it was alright. Once it saw that the wound was healed completely, she bowed as well._

_Then the father unicorn nodded to his child. The baby walked up to them. It nudged Ginny's bag. A few seconds later, a small vial dropped onto the soft grass. Ginny picked it up._

_"What do you want me to do with this?" She asked. The unicorn used its head to nudge Harry and Ginny's hand together. It brought their hands grasping the vial to just below the once wounded spot._

_Draco gasped. "It's not going to…"_

_The unicorn raised its horn proudly, and brought it down upon the skin. A golden light trickled out of the wound rather than the normal silver._

_The vial filled completely and the wound sealed itself. The baby bowed to them once more and then disappeared into the night, joined with its parents._

_"Do you two know what you're holding?" Draco asked, his mouth still dropped to the floor._

_They nodded and together said, "Blood of a Unicorn, freely given."_

* * *

**The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**The Finale**

Neville and Hermione took an immediate liking to Draco after he explained himself. They had just met up with each other before dawn had arrived.

They found Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Hagrid trailing around soon afterwards. Harry, Ginny, and Draco explained what had happened to the unicorn.

They explained how the monster that had been attacking the previous unicorns had been attacked by a strange "horse" and then fled. It had been too late for the unicorn foal however and its parents took it away before they could do anything.

Hagrid sighed. "You probably saw one of the centaurs. They're extremely territorial but they do give me a nice chat every now and then. The beast probably wandered too close to the herd in the forest. You're lucky he didn't attack you. They do not trust humans that much these days. But…least the monster fled."

Hagrid told them to wait for Mr. Filch to come and escort them back to the castle. Then he headed back into his hut. When the wooden door shut, Ron exploded at his sister.

"You ditched me! Right in the middle of the Forbidden Forest!" He roared.

"Harry was calling me to help him and Draco heal the unicorn." Ginny explained.

"I didn't hear anything!" Ron objected,

"Well…if you weren't complaining about getting detention, yet again I might add, you would have."

"Why would Harry call for your help instead of mine?" Ron asked.

Harry spoke. "Maybe Harry would want someone to help him who has a clue about magic."

"I have a clue about magic!" Ron nearly shouted.

"Really? Could've fooled me." Harry said. He and his real friends walked away, leaving Ron and his gang behind.

Mr. Filch had been very surprised as well as disappointed when he found them all to be in one piece. They walked across the grounds in complete silence underneath the light of the rising sun.

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The final Quidditch match had arrived. It was Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, had apparently been training his team non stop since watching Ravenclaw's big victories.

"Alright men." Oliver said. He looked at Angelina. "And women." He quickly added. "This is our final chance. The Ravenclaw Team has led this entire season. But we are second place. We can pull this off. They have gotten too cocky and arrogant. We will destroy them here and now. And then we will bring the honor of the Quidditch Cup back to its rightful place of Gryffindor!"

The team cheered and prepared for their great battle. The twins sighed. They already knew what was going to happen today.

They took their positions on the field. Madame Hooch stepped onto the grassy plains. She threw the Quaffle into the air and the game began.

Harry, Ginny, and Paul soared through the skies. Once again, they amazed the crowd with their gracefulness and speed. Harry had fulfilled his promise to Paul. His father had been searched and found to have been stealing out of the Ministry's funds. He had been punished severely and sentence to wizarding jail for three years. Paul had become a lot more confident since. His brother Greg, did not comment on the news, but Harry could see the faintest of smiles tugging at the corner of the teen's lips when he looked at his brother.

The three chasers of Gryffindor had put up a bit of a fight. They did manage to throw them off guard for a few goals even. The Weasley Twins half heartedly swung their bats at the bludgers. The two were so experienced, that they made it seem like it Bludger was about to strike, but it would veer to the side slightly, causing a visual near miss.

They both knew who was going to win today. They were two of the few Gryffindors that actually did.

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Dumbledore paced around in his office in a fury. The Ravenclaws had won the final Quidditch match easily! He had been forced to hand over the Quidditch Cup to a grinning Mark DeGani. Gryffindor had lost the quid ditch cup! AGAIN! How could this have happened? It had all been so simple back then.

Leave Harry at Dursley's. Have the Dursleys hate him for ten years. Send Hagrid to fetch him and reintroduce Harry to the wizarding world as it was. Where he was superior and young Harry's guide.

It had all been planned out years ago. Everything had been so carefully planned.

Why had his master plan taken such a altered course? What had happened?

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The exams had crept up upon everyone the entire year. But no one was ready when they hit.

Well…almost no one.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Tonks, and Draco had all formed a study group for the exams weeks ago. They had offered for Fred and George to join them, but they replied that their futures did not lie in the academic arts.

Ron had forced his way past everyone standing in front of him, demanding to know why Harry was reading a schoolbook. Unlike you, I give a damn about my future." He returned to chapter sixteen, _Plucking Pixiepods._

"But the tests are weeks away!" Ron moaned. Harry did not take one eye off the book. The boy was not worth the effort.

"Ron, the first test is next week." He slowly explained to the youngest male of the Weasleys. Very…very…slowly.

"But that's like," Ron paused to think about how long a week was.

"Take your time Ron." Neville said with a smirk.

"We wont rush you while you help us figure out this complicated equation." Hermione giggled.

Ron scrunched his face hard for thirteen long seconds. His face was red and turning purple, then, he smirked.

"It's a week." He told them, like he had realized this before anyone else did.

"Very good big brother!" Ginny praised him. They packed up their bags.

"It's time for class." Hermione said.

They left Ron alone in the Library.

He looked around and shuddered. 'Books…bloody disgusting things.'

He bolted out of that place as fast a idiotically possible.

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The exams crawled closer and closer. Our heroes continued to study for their tests while everyone else in the castle was enjoying the sunny days outside, not a care in the world about the dreaded exams in just two short days.

Dumbledore called the youngest male of the Weasleys into his office.

"You wanted to see me sir?" He asked arrogantly. The great Dumbledore had summoned him and him alone into his office. That alone was a great honor.

"Yes. I did Ronald." The aged wizard said. His eyes began to twinkle. "Are you prepared for the final exams?"

"The…exams?" Ron asked.

"The ones starting just two days from now." The bearded man said simply.

"TWO DAYS?" Ron screeched. A silence followed. "Oh…er…um…yeah…I'm ready."

"Very good." Albus smiled. "Now then, let me explain to you what events will be occurring in the next few days.

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Just two short days later, the exams had arrived. The classrooms were hot and humid. Everyone was sweating, not only because of the weather, but also because of nervousness.

They had all been given Anti-Cheating Quills and a blank sheet of Parchment for the exams.

In the practical exams, they each went in one by one into a classroom and performed a task asked by a teacher.

McGonagall had them turn a mouse into a snuffbox. Professor Flitwick had them charm a pineapple to tap-dance across the desk. Snape had apparently been breathing down certain students necks while they were trying to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.

Harry remembered as much as he could as he put ink onto the parchment. He yawned. He had not had a restful sleep for the past few nights. Those dreams about that hooded figure. The one they called an evil Lord. The wizard called…Voldemort.

The very last final exam was History of Magic. A whole hour of answering questions about old wizards who invented automatic cauldrons and wars between the wizards and goblins. Just that final hour, and they'd be finished.

Finally, the ancient ghost named Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their papers. The class cheered and ran out the door.

Harry simply decided to walk around the school and enjoy the fact that his first year was almost complete. He would receive his grades later on so there was no reason to worry about it now.

He heard someone talking. The voice was very familiar.

"Yes my master. It will be done tonight."

Harry stood still. He mentally cast a disillusion charm upon himself. Not a second later, the bumbling Professor Quirrel came stuttering out of his office.

Harry watched with an invisible eye as Quirrel began mumbling something random about needing more garlic for the vampires.

'Harry," Merlin said. 'It is time.'

He nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out the small communicator Flitwick had charmed. On it was a singe red button. Harry checked the surroundings with his magic. No one was watching. Even Dumbledore was not listening in.

He silently pushed the red button. Into it he whispered one single sentence. "It happens tonight."

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* * *

At nine o' clock sharp, Harry, Ginny, Neville, Draco, and Hermione gathered around the third floor corridor.

"This is it." Draco whispered.

"We've got to stop Snape." Neville said, his acting skills were pretty good.

"We can't let him give the stone to You Know Who!" Hermione spoke.

"Let's go." Ginny said.

Harry unlocked the door and swung it open. There sat the giant three heads of Fluffy. The right head was chewing on a slime covered red rubber ball.

"Hey Fluffy." Harry greeted the dog like it was an old friend, which it was.

The six years turned towards him and three pink tongues panted happily. The trunk sized tail shook the castle as it pounded against the wall. Over in the corner, a small harp was suspended in midair, playing a lullaby.

Harry patted the three snouts and asked if the Cerberus if they could go down the trapdoor. The giant dog barked in agreement. They undid the latch and hopped into the abyss of darkness.

Harry had seen the plants from his little trip through the hidden walkways, but having them crawl around your legs was a completely different experience. But they had to keep to the plan.

"Stop." Hermione told them all.

"It's Devil's Snare." Neville fake recognized.

"We need to relax. If you keep struggling, it'll only kill you faster." Hermione recalled the passage from a book.

They did as she instructed and they slowly fell through the vines until they hit the stone floor below. They dusted themselves off and walked through the wooden doorway onto the next challenge.

"Do you hear something?" Hermione asked.

"Sounds like wings." Harry guessed.

They entered the next room where the sounds of rustling and clinking filled the air. High above, thousands of jewel-bright birds flapped their tiny wings. On the other side of the room, was a heavy door with a giant rusty lock attached.

They walked underneath the birds and tried the door, already knowing what it was going to be.

Locked.

Hermione half heartedly tried an Alohamora spell. The lock did not budge an inch.

"They're keys!" Neville called out. He looked around and found a broomstick hovering in midair. "We've got to catch the right key to the door."

"It sounds way too easy. There's got to be some sort of gimmick." Hermione proposed.

"I've got an easier idea." Ginny said. She pointed her wand at the cloud of keys above and yelled, "Accio right key to this door. Right on queue, a small and rusty key shot straight through the key storm and landed into Ginny's awaiting palm. She placed the key in the lock and gave it a quick turn. The broken lock fell the cold floor with a thud.

"That's two down." Harry said. They walked down yet another crooked passage way into a darkened room. Only the square center was lit. It had a pattern to it. Black square. White square. Black square. Giant statues of medieval men and women stood, one per tile.

In other words, they were standing on a giant chessboard.

The white stone pieces stood ready on the other side of the board. They had no faces at all.

"We've got to play our way across the room to go on." Hermione realized.

Neville stared at the board. Then, he looked at the room's floor.

"We don't have to actually." He claimed.

"What?" The others said.

"Look at your feet. You're not standing on the chessboard. As long as we stay clear of it, we don't have to play.

"So what you're saying is…go around the chessboard?" Draco asked. "Neville, you are brilliant!"

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Ron stood outside the door to the third floor corridor. Harry was going to be down there soon. He was going to join him and share the glory of defeating He Who Must Not Be Named. Albus Dumbldore himself had given him this important mission.

He sat down on his butt and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

He yawned. Boy was he tired.

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They simply passed the unresponsive chess pieces, since they did not recognize any opponents to fight.

They walked through another arch and nearly passed out at the smell. Their eyes watered.

A troll even larger than the one before was knocked out on the floor. A bloody lump on the side of its head.

"Looks like we don't have to fight that one." Harry said the obvious.

They walked past the lump of a troll and entered the next room.

There, standing in front of them, was the table with the seven bottles and the roll of paper. They stepped over the threshold and purple fire flared behind them. In the front stood black flames.

They pretended to read the paper.

"Well…looks like this is just a logic puzzle." Hermione said.

"Couldn't we just use a flame-freezing charm?" Draco suggested. They all agreed and cast the spell. Easily, they walked through the fire as if it wasn't even there.

They entered the final chamber. Someone was already there. Someone had beaten them to the stone.

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* * *

It was Quirrel.

"Hello Harry Potter. I have been expecting you." He smiled. His face was devoid of twitching.

"And so have we." Harry said calmly. Quirrel held a look of surprise but quickly shook it away.

"You have know that it was me. Quite interesting. You are much wiser than I had previously thought."

He snapped his fingers and ropes tied themselves tightly around our heroes. They could not move. The ropes wove themselves around their mouths, preventing speech.

"Now be quiet children. I must examine this mirror." He gazed into the smooth glass of the Mirror of Erised. "I see myself holding the stone. I see myself presenting it to my master. But how do I get it?"

An ice cold voice spoke. "_Use the boy_." Quirrel turned to Harry. He levitated him towards the mirror.

"Tell me what you see inside that mirror."

Harry gazed inside. What he wanted was a way to stop Voldemort. He saw himself standing in fornt of a fallen Quirrel. He saw a cloud of smoke and-

"Well, what is it?" Quirrel demanded. The image inside the glass faded.

"I...I see myself. I just see me standing there."

"You are lying."

"_No_." the icy voice shrilled. "_He tells the truth. Let me speak to him_."

"Master, you are not strong enough." Quirrel pleaded.

"I have strength enough…for this."

Quirrel reached for his purple turban and began unwrapping it. His head looked so much smaller without it on.

Harry looked away from Quirrel. He had an idea of where the voice might be coming from.

"_Harry Potter. We meet...again_." The voice spoke. Harry could feel the two red eyes stabbing him with a glare."

"Voldemort."

"_Yes. Do you see what I have become? Do you see what I must do to survive? Live off another as a mere parasite. The unicorn blood has sustained me. But it cannot give me a body of my own. But there is something that can. I know that you can find the stone. I know that it is hidden right inside this very mirror. Give the stone to me…and you will be rewarded handsomely_."

"Never!" Harry shouted.

The Dark Lord laughed. "_Hah! Courage. Your parents had it too. Tell me Harry…would you like to see your mother and father again? Together…we can bring them back. There is no good and evil. Only power and those too weak to seek it."_

"You liar!" Harry yelled.

"_KILL HIM_!" the Lord screamed.

All at once, spells shot everywhere. A few cutting hexes freed Ginny, Draco, Neville, and Hermione. Another pushed Harry away from Quirrel's grasp. Two seconds later, Master and servant were surrounded.

"_I see."_ The face of Voldemort seared itself into Harry's brain. Ginny's subconscious was forced out of his mind. There was only darkness.

_'Harry_,' the voice said. _'Remember, You are always welcome to join us and have your revenge against the world_.'

"Give up now. You're completely surrounded." McGonagall shouted.

Voldemort stared at his situation. He was still and silent.

Then, Quirrel's body went rigid. It started shaking violently. The once stuttering professor began screaming.

"WHY MASTER? WHY?" His body lit up and a strange force appeared to come out of him. Something seemed to be ripped from his very body. He flailed around as

The body fell to the floor with a thud, unmoving.

Harry sighed. It was over…for now. Voldemort was still alive. A shadow, a mere vapor. So close and yet he could not die. He would not die.

Then, something closed in on his scar. It felt life someone had brought a sword down upon it, splitting his head clean open. No one could have ever experienced this amount of pain. Nothing could compare to this.

It was pure torture. He felt like his head was about to explode. The room started to spin. Faster and faster it twirled.

He fell.

The last thing he saw was the face of a crying Ginny.

"HARRY!"

The world went dark.

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And that is the end of the Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone! Thank you to everyone who has supported, reviewed, and read this tale. The end of this great tale has come. But could there be more? Could a sequel come in the near future?

Harry's world has gone dark. What could have happened? Could I be that evil to leave it right there? Could I? Would I? Dare I?

**Thanks To…**

Mdauben kanakmp buddygirl1004

..86 pantherfan16 SeanHicks4

Comet Moon JourneyRocks13 MissMillie

Nightwing 509 milarqui Danstheman

Kiwifan13 Professor Chris Luiz4200

MagicalNinjaUnicorn Lord Jawblinneron MRS YAYA

NUDGELOVER The Spiked Dragon harryandginnyforever

Azphxbrd mei fa-chan DanielWhite

**Bragging Rights go to…**

Buddygirl1004-Trapdoor sequence

Milarqui-Ron

Danstheman-Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny go down the trapdoor.

NUDGELOVER-go through the trapdoor.

Harryandginnyforever-meet Voldemort on the back of Quirrel's head.

Azphxbrd-Trapdoor sequence, Ron being told by Dumbledore

* * *

**This is the end of The Lord and Lady Phoenix: The Stone**

**Thank you to all that have read this magical journey.**

**SuperXBrother**


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